Editor’s Synopsis
- Adani begins Berth Construction at Vizhinjam port in Kerala
- Construction of the port is moving as per schedule
- The Port to provide access to the most prominent international waterways
- Set to position India as a top global transhipment hub
Ahmedabad / Thiruvananthapuram, June 01, 2017: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, (APSEZ), India’s largest port developer and part of the Adani Group, today said that it began construction of the first berth at India’s premier and ambitious international transhipment project in Vizhinjam, Kerala.
A groundbreaking ceremony was organized to mark the occasion by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri. Pinarayi Vijayan, and was presided over by Shri. Ramachandran Kadannapally, Hon’ble Minister for Ports, Museums, Archaeology and Archives, in the presence of Shri. Karan Adani, CEO, APSEZ and others.
“We are happy with the progress made so far at developing India’s first ever Transhipment Port at Vizhinjam. We are overwhelmed with the support bestowed on us by the people of Kerala and the Government of Kerala to develop this deep water multi cargo port in the country. The Port is very strategically located for access to prominent international waterways, this project will enable India to be strategically positioned as a global transhipment hub. It will also help us in accelerating our journey towards achieving our vision.” said Mr. Karan Adani, CEO, APSEZ.
This project will be Kerala’s first ever deep water container transhipment port, with a deep draft of 20.5m and the first phase of the Berth being constructed will be 800m in length. The project is moving as per schedule reaching the half way milestone post the successful land reclamation stage and is well on course to be completed within the stipulated time period of four years.
The transhipment port is located 16 kms south of the State Capital of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. The port location is selected to tap the potential of development as a deep water international multi-cargo port. The proposed site is on the international shipping route connecting Europe, Persian Gulf and the Far East, very close to the east-west shipping axis within 10 nautical miles.
APSEZ is the country’s largest port company with footprints across the Indian coastline with presence across ten locations. It has proven expertise in building, operating and maintaining world class port infrastructure. APSEZ operates ports in Mundra, Hazira, Tuna-Tekra (Kandla) and Dahej, in Gujarat, Dhamra in Odisha, Katupalli in Chennai and operates specialized coal handling facilities in Mormugao in Goa, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Apart from the transhipment hub in Vizinjham, it is also currently setting up a container terminal at Ennore in Tamil Nadu.
At present, more than one million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of Indian cargo get transshipped annually through foreign ports, such as Colombo in Sri Lanka.