Chief Minister reviews preparations at Vizhinjam ahead of commissioning

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan visited the Vizhinjam International Seaport here on Saturday ahead of the formal commissioning of the project.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan visited the Vizhinjam International Seaport here on Saturday ahead of the formal commissioning of the project. The Chief Minister visited the port along with his family. He also reviewed the preparations for the scheduled commissioning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 2. The Chief Minister also visited and reviewed the operations of the port, control centres, the wharf, the breakwater, and the Coast Guard’s boat harbour, including the discharge of containers at the port.

Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited Managing Director Divya S. Iyer made a presentation of the project explaining the activities being held at the seaport. Earlier, an organising committee had been formed with the Chief Minister as the chief patron ahead of the commissioning of the port. The State government has also made arrangements to make the inaugural ceremony a grand moment in the history of the State.

The major part of the phase one construction of the Vizhinjam port was completed in December itself, and the port started commercial operations on December 3. Overall, over 265 ships have called at the port so far, handling about 5.5 lakh TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) containers. Clearing the decks for the further expansion of the project, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests granted environmental clearance to the project last March.

As part of the next phase of construction, the port concessionaire Adani Vizhinjam Ports Private Ltd. (AVPPL) will invest around ₹10,000 crore at the transshipment port. The container terminal will be expanded to 1,200 m in length, and the length of the breakwater will be increased by another 900 m in the next phases. Other development works include the construction of 1,220-m-long multipurpose berths, 250-m-long liquid berths (with breakwater), liquid cargo storage facilities, and the dredging of approximately 7.20 Mm³ of land covering an area of ​​77.17 hectares.

The State government is also working on projects to ensure rail and road connectivity to the port. Out of the 10.7 km of railway line proposed to the port, 9.2 km of the line will go through a tunnel. The Detailed Project Report prepared by Konkan Railway has been approved by the Railway Ministry, and work will soon begin. Port Ministers V. N. Vasavan and General Education Minister V. Sivankutty, Corporation Mayor Arya Rajendran, and Vizhinjam Port CEO Pradeep Jayaraman received the Chief Minister and his family.