Vizhinjam Port To Elevate India's Position On Maritime Map, Says Sarbananda Sonowal

The international deep-water trans-shipment port at Vizhinjam in Kerala will pose significant competition to ports like Colombo and Singapore, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Friday.

Sonowal emphasised the port's strategic location near international shipping lanes and its ability to accommodate deep-draft vessels, and said Vizhinjam is ideally positioned as a favoured choice for trans-shipment activities.

The minister expressed optimism about the port's capacity to handle mega-size container vessels, anticipating a favourable shift of international trans-shipment cargo from Colombo and Singapore to Vizhinjam soon.

"This port will offer a viable alternative and option to the major shipping lanes to mitigate the disruption in the global supply chain," he said in his speech on the occasion of welcoming the first cargo vessel at the port.

A 300-metre-long Chinese mothership 'San Fernando', which berthed at the port a day ago, was on Friday formally welcomed by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a ceremony where Sonowal was also present.

The mothership had on Thursday docked at the port being developed by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd., India's largest port developer and part of the Adani Group, in a public-private partnership model at a cost of around Rs 8,867 crore.

The mothership carries large containers which will be transferred to other ships and later transported to other ports in the country and abroad. The union minister said the port will help to position India on the top of the maritime map.

Sonowal said it was a big step towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to create world-class port facilities in the country.

He further said that the port project also demonstrates how a successful public-private partnership between the centre, state government and the private sector "can unleash the immense potential of our maritime sector".

"This is one of the exemplary success stories of the PPP model in creating state-of-the-art port infrastructure in the country," he said.

Equipped with modern equipment and advanced automation and IT systems, Vizhinjam will become India's first semi-automated port, expected to be fully commissioned in September or October 2024.

The project, scheduled to be commissioned in 2019, was delayed due to issues with land acquisition, various natural calamities and the Covid-19 pandemic.

(With inputs from PTI)

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