Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 24 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said that once the second phase development of Vizhinjam seaport is completed, it will become an international transshipment hub and an important centre on the global maritime trade map.
Speaking after inaugurating phase two development of the port and the road connecting it to the National Highway, the CM said the message it was sending to the world was that Kerala was “changing and moving forward”.
“The time when we depended on others for the movement of goods is over. Kerala is becoming a major power in India’s logistics sector today,” Vijayan added.
At the same time, he said that there was a lot more to be done and with everyone’s support it will definitely be completed.
Vijayan said that with the completion of the road connecting the port to the National Highway, soon goods will be moved via road.
Regarding the next stage of the port’s development, he said that it merges phase 2, 3 and 4 into one and that the entire work is expected to be completed by 2028, 17 years ahead of schedule.
As a result, the government will start receiving its share of revenue from the port from 2035, he said.
He further said that after completion of the port development, it will be equipped to handle next-gen container ships with capacities of 28,840 Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and even five mothership vessels simultaneously.
Vijayan said that since the arrival of the first mothership vessel in July 2024 and its dedication to the nation on May 2, 2025, the port has leaped ahead by surpassing its initial capacity of 1 million TEU per year within 10 months — “an achievement no port in the world can claim”.
Besides that, it handled 615 ships and 1.32 million containers in the first year itself, catered to the world’s largest and highest-draft ships and dealt with more than 50 ships every month, he said.
The achievement of handling 1,000 ships will be within reach in a short time, he added.
“This leap of Vizhinjam has left behind many ports that started operations before Vizhinjam. This is a matter of pride for our entire country,” the CM said.
Vijayan said that another unique feature of the port was that it was the first in the country to appoint women as automated crane operators.
“This is yet another example of a woman-friendly Kerala,” he said.
Vijayan said that the Centre has recognised the port as an immigration checkpoint which will turn it into a major container transshipment hub on the international shipping route and also an important crew change centre.
As a result, huge luxury cruise ships will also be able to berth at Vizhinjam which in turn will be a big boost to the state’s tourism sector.
He also gave details of the second phase of development, saying it will include expanding the current 800-meter container berth to 2,000 meters and extending the existing 2.96 km breakwater to 3.88 km.
This will result in the port having the longest container berth in the country and the deepest breakwater in the nation, he said.
Vijayan said that no land will be acquired for the second phase as it will be taken from the sea by filling it with sand. PTI HMP SA
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