PM Modi Vizhinjam Port Inauguration In Kerala: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fee India’s first deepwater transshipment port at Vizhinjam in Kerala as we speak, making a pivotal step in making India a worldwide transport hub and decreasing logictical prices.
Constructed at a price of round Rs 8,900 crore underneath public-private partnership (PPP) mode, the transshipment port is operated by the Adani Group, with the Kerala authorities holding the bulk stake.
In April, the Vizhinjam Worldwide Seaport, which started restricted operations final yr, acquired MSC Türkiye—one of many world’s largest cargo ships, with a capability of over 24,000 containers—making it the primary port in India to deal with a vessel of that measurement. Alongside being the one transshipment hub within the Indian subcontinent, the port is near the worldwide transport routes, and is strategically situated on the Indian shoreline. It has a pure draft of round 20 metres.
Strategic want for a transshipment hub in India
A transshipment port consists of terminals, the place cargo containers are shifted from one vessel to a different earlier than they attain their ultimate vacation spot. Nations with strong world commerce networks have a tendency to make use of such ports to effectively course of giant quantities of worldwide cargo.
Till now, India lacked a full-fledged deepwater container transshipment port. With no infrastructure to deal with giant vessels, practically 75 per cent of its transshipment cargo has been routed by way of international ports resembling Colombo, Singapore, and Jebel Ali within the UAE.
The reliance on international transshipment terminals not solely leads to longer transit occasions and potential delays, it additionally prices home merchants a further $80 to $100 per container. Moreover, India is estimated to be dropping between $200-220 million a yr in potential revenue from servicing its personal cargo as a result of transshipment situation.
Rising self-reliance in maritime logistics can also be anticipated to mitigate the affect of geopolitical shocks on India’s provide chains.
Benefits supplied by Vizhinjam port
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The Vizhinjam port within the Arabian Sea is India’s strategic response to over-reliance on international ports for transshipment cargo. With its commissioning, India can have a deepwater port close to worldwide transport routes able to receiving enormous “mom vessels”, carrying as many as 20,000 containers (TEUs). Cargo from mom vessels might be offloaded onto smaller ships headed to different ports in India.
Its proximity to the congested east-west worldwide transport lane simply 10 nautical miles away places it in a main location to turn into a serious transshipment hub for the Indian subcontinent.
Vizhinjam’s largest benefit is its pure depth of 18 to twenty metres solely a kilometre away from the shore—deep sufficient for the world’s largest cargo vessels to dock with out dredging, a expensive and environmentally disruptive course of used to deepen shallow ports.
In contrast to most Indian ports, Vizhinjam experiences minimal sand motion alongside the coast (littoral drift), which reduces upkeep prices. The onshore connectivity can also be an enormous benefit—it’s solely 2 km from a nationwide freeway, 12 km from a primary rail line, and 15 km from Trivandrum airport, so cargo might be moved very simply throughout India.
Reducing logistical prices
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Presently geared up to deal with 1 million containers every year, Vizhinjam port is ready to broaden by a further 6.4 million over two extra phases. Operated by Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, which holds a 28.9 per cent stake, the mission will additional cement the corporate’s place as India’s main personal participant in maritime logistics. The Authorities of Kerala owns a majority 61.5 per cent stake, whereas the Union authorities holds 9.6 per cent.
As soon as absolutely operational, Vizhinjam is predicted to assist India seize a bigger share of its personal transshipment commerce, decrease logistics prices, and improve transport effectivity. Its pure benefits may additionally result in long-term financial savings on upkeep and operations, whereas boosting India’s competitiveness in world commerce.
India can also be creating a deepwater port at Vadhvan in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, the place building started in August 2024. One other mega transshipment port is proposed on Nice Nicobar Island within the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, presently awaiting regulatory clearances.
Presently, India has 13 main ports and 217 non-major ports, together with personal ports like Adani’s Mundra port and the Krishnapatnam port. Navi Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port and the Mundra port are the most important container ports within the nation, every dealing with upwards of seven million containers every year.