Prime Minister Narendra Modi will write a new chapter in the maritime history of the country and Kerala at 11 a.m. on Friday.
Kerala Port Minister VN Vasavan said Kerala’s second Pinarayi Vijayan government held a golden moment in Kerala, and the formal handover of the event will put the formal handover of Kerala at the forefront of world maritime trade.
With the signing of the Feasibility Gap Funding (VGF) agreement with the Center, all procedures related to the first phase of the Vizhinjam port have been completed. The formal commissioning of the port will be made by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Trade Union Transport Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Secretary of State of the State Council George Kurien and Suresh Gopi, Governor, Opposition Leader, and more.
According to Mr Vasawan, the initial cost of the port project was Rs 8.667 crore, with the state government donation of Rs 55.95 crore (63%), while the project’s franchisee, Adani Group, spent Rs 2,454 crore (28%). In addition, the Centre granted Rs 81.8 crore (9%) for VGF loans. The spending of Rs 13.5 billion was used to build the breakwater, which was borne only by the state government. Furthermore, the state must spend Rs 14,829.2 crore to establish a railway connection with the port.
Mr Vasavan said the Centre decided to share VGF as a loan ignoring Kerala, saying the Centre insists that the state should repay this VGF amount based on net existing value (NPV) as it must repay approximately Rs 120,000-billion of Rs 10,000-billion for the Centre for a certain period of time. On the other hand, there is no such condition to grant VGF amount of Rs 1,411 crore for the external port project of Thoothukudi port.
He said a large portion of the port revenue will be handed over to the central government when the fully prepared Vizhinjam port is fully operational. The centre receives 60 paces per rupee collected as customs duties, while the state may receive one to three paces. Even in a rough estimate, Vizhinjam will net income of Rs 100,000 crore through tariffs. Mr Vasawan said that the centre could therefore receive an additional income of Rs 60 crore per year.
As the next phase is completed by 2028, the port’s minimum installation capacity will be 3 million Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year. Adani Port will invest Rs 95 billion in the subsequent stages. Even before commissioning, the vessel began calling the port at the beginning of the trial operation on July 11, 2024 and began commercial operations on December 3, 2024. So far, 285 ships have been moored at the port, which surprised the world by handling a port of up to 5,93,000 Teus in such a short time. During this time, it has achieved 110% utilization of its installation capabilities. Vizhinjam Port also ranked first in port operations in southern and western India in February and March 2025, by achieving the feat of handling 100,000 Teus per month.
In addition, during this period, MSCTürkiye was known as the largest ship ever to arrive in India, at the Vizhinjam berth. MSC’s weekly service to Europe, called Jade Service, also starts with Vizhinjam. Mr Vasavan said that with formal commissioning, Vizhinjam will compete with any major port in the world at a level, which is a proud moment for Kerala.
publishing – April 30, 2025 09:21 pm ist
