Thiruvananthapuram:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially pay a commission to the Vijinjam International Cottage today, which will keep Kerala firmly on the global maritime map.
India is expected to change the role of India in the port international trade and shipping in Thiruvananthapuram district.
The deep-warder port has been developed under Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ), India’s largest port developer and part of Adani Group, a public-private partnership.
The project was completed at an estimated cost of Rs 8,867 crore. After a successful trial run, Port obtained its commercial commissioning certificate on 4 December last year.
In a post on ‘X’, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday, “Yesterday is a historic moment as a historic moment, as India’s Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has dedicated the Vizinism International COL to the nation.” “This historic project-The largest state investment in any port of the country, is two-thirds of the cost carried out by the Government of Kerala-detects the state’s strong commitment to development.
“The commission of Vijinjam port marks the beginning of a new chapter in India’s maritime trip, which firmly puts the nation on the global map,” said Mr. Vijayan.
Earlier, he said that it is not only the inauguration of a new port, but the beginning of a new era that will give Indian trade and logistics a strong global appearance.
Vizinjam is India’s first dedicated transpiration port and is also the first semi-automatic port in the country.
It sits at a distance of just 10 miles from a major international shipping route and has a naturally deep water, making it ideal for large cargo ships.
So far, about 75 percent of India’s transpiration containers were controlled by the Colombo port in Sri Lanka, causing significant damage to foreign exchange and revenue. Vizinjam is expected to bring that traffic back to India.
The port has received the highest investment from a state government in India. The Kerala government is funding two-thirds of the total cost of the project, including the full cost of the construction of breakwater-a significant part of the drach that ensures that the port operates smoothly in all seasons.
Breakwater is the deepest in India in Vijinjam and extends about three kilometers. The height of the 28 meters-nine-nine-storey building-this is a major engineering achievement.
The trial operation began on July 13, 2024, and the complete commercial operation began on 3 December 2024. During the three -month testing phase, more than 272 larger vessels were docked at the port, and over 550,000 containers were handled.
The Vijinjam is fully equipped with a complete automatic yard crane and remotely operated ship-to-stenare cranes for distant and safe operations. It also has India’s first home-made, AI-operated vessel traffic management system developed with IIT Madras.
The Chief Minister said that with the signing of viability gap funding agreement, all formal steps for the first phase of the project have been completed.
In early 2025, Vizinjam topped the list of ports on the southern and west coasts of India for container cargo handling, managing more than 100,000 Teu (twenty-foot equivalent units) per month.
A major milestone came when Vijinjam berth to MSc Türkiye, which was one of the largest cargo ships to reach India.
Another important development is the world’s largest shipping company MSc’s Z service in Z service. This major cargo route connects Europe and Asia through South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
Vizinjam is now becoming the main center for South Asia on this route.
MSc includes only high -capacity ports in its major services, which is a major achievement incorporating visuals during its testing phase. The port now joined global veterans such as Kingdao, Shanghai, Busan and Singapore.
The Jade Seva will go from Singapore to Visinjam, then continue the ports in Spain and Italy. This means that more containers coming to India will directly reach Vizinjam and will be distributed at other ports using small feeders.
By 2028, the next phase of construction is expected to be completed, giving the port annual capacity of at least 3 million teu. The price of this phase will be Rs 10,000 crore, which will be completely funded by Adani ports.
Vizinjam is also being developed as a multi-model hub, with the National Highway 66 and the first to handle future cargo development with direct road access to Kerala’s first cloverlif interchange. A railway link connecting the port to the national network will start construction soon.
With these developments, Vizinjam is ready to become an important entrance to trade in South Asia and is a proud symbol of India’s growing maritime strength, Vijayan has opposed.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
