The construction of the Vizhinjam International Seaport in Kerala has made significant progress, with over 88 per cent of the overall work completed, according to an announcement made by the government in the assembly. This development sets the stage for a potential trial run of the port’s operations by the end of June.
In response to a question from Neyyattinkara MP K Ansalan, Ports Minister GN Vasavan provided updates on the Vizhinjam International Seaport’s progress. He reported that dredging and reclamation are 98 per cent complete, breakwater construction is 81 per cent finished, and other components are also nearing completion — berth (92 per cent), buildings (94 per cent), container yard (74 per cent), project equipment including cranes (91 per cent), and gate complex and road (70 per cent).
Last month, the Adani Group, responsible for constructing the port, confirmed that all necessary technical support systems and experts have been arranged to facilitate the trial run, reports The New India Express.
The significance of the Vizhinjam Port project
Vizhinjam, located about 14 km from Kerala’s capital city of Trivandrum, has a natural depth of over 18 m and is located hardly ten nautical miles (18 km) from the international shipping route from West Asia, Africa and Europe to the far eastern regions of the world.
Additionally, the availability of a 20-metre contour within one nautical mile from the coast, minimal littoral drift along the coast, the natural depth that excludes the need for maintenance dredging, potential for better road, and rail transport link potential make Vizhinjam a strategic well-suited for the greenfield project.
Vizhinjam is envisaged to be an all-weather, multipurpose, deepwater, mechanised, greenfield port that seeks to garner the lion’s share of the Indian transhipment cargo now being handled by the nearby foreign ports and emerge as the future transhipment hub of the country.