As Gautam Adani”s Vizhinjam port near the Kerala capital of Thiruvananthapuram welcomed its first ship, the Congress and CPI(M) parties, once Adani”s strong critics, clashed over claiming credit for the project.

The main opposition Congress attributes the credit to former chief minister Oommen Chandy, who initiated the project. At the time, the CPI(M) threw stones at Chandy, accusing him of doing real estate business with Adani, said opposition leader V.D. Satheesan.

However, CPI(M) leader M. Govindan claimed that the project was the brainchild of former chief minister E.K. Nayanar, who envisioned it 30 years ago, while another CPI(M) chief minister, V.S. Achuthanandan, moved the project forward by taking adequate steps. The incumbent chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, made the project a reality by sorting out various hurdles such as land acquisition and overcoming the agitation posed by a group led by the Latin Church.

Union minister and BJP  leader, V. Muraleedharan, attributed the credit to the Narendra Modi government. Vizhinjam port is strategically significant for India as it is located between the Suez Canal and the Strait of Malacca. This will place India on the map of global trade, and ultra-large container and cargo vessels will pass through this port, further accelerating container and cargo traffic.

The Vizhinjam port was inaugurated as the Modi government plans Maritime India Vision 2030 with mega ports and transshipment hubs. The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 1.25 lakh crore. The port also poses challenges to Chinese dominance in the maritime sector.

According to a Bloomberg report, the port”s proximity to international shipping routes that account for 30% of global cargo traffic and a natural channel that goes up to 24 meters below the sea make it an ideal hub for some of the world”s largest ships to call in. Until now, India”s harbors were not deep enough to handle such vessels, and the biggest container ships have been docking at neighboring ports such as Colombo, Dubai, and Singapore.

Poor shipping connectivity has hindered India”s integration into the global value chain, according to a 2022 report by the Reserve Bank of India. In 2020, India”s container traffic was only 17 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit, a measure of volume in units of twenty-foot-long containers), compared to China”s 245 million TEUs, according to the port”s ministry in February. This means that India”s container traffic is less than 10% of China”s.

Vizhinjam is India”s premier mother port and one of the largest ports in the world. It is a public-private sector venture, in which Adani Ports holds a 30% stake. Adani Ports is the largest private sector port operator in India.

According to Karan Adani, CEO of Adani Ports and SEZs, the total investment over the next few years in the port will be Rs. 20,000 crore. Adani also plans to divert transshipment traffic from neighboring ports such as Colombo, Salalah, and Singapore.

The Adani Group has been facing furious attacks from various corners since a US short seller released serious allegations against it on January 24. Hindenburg accused the Adani Group of illegally using offshore tax havens and manipulating stocks.

In May, a court-appointed committee stated that an investigation by India”s markets regulator into these allegations had not produced any results. However, last week, Reuters reported that the financial regulator would clarify to the country”s highest court why it had stopped and then resumed investigations into the group after receiving a tip in 2014, due to concerns about regulatory delays.

The Congress also alleges Adani”s proximity to the Narendra Modi government.