Vinzhinjam Port: How It Is Geostrategically And Economically Significant For India?
Vizhinjam International Seaport is India’s global connectivity project and its first deep-sea container transshipment terminal. The port has historic significance as it served as a key maritime trade route for the Kingdom of Travancore. The port owned by the Adani Group is a strategic maritime project near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, which is scheduled to be inaugurated on Friday and to be fully functional soon.
The port developed in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode is based on a design, build, finance, operate, and transfer (DBFOT) arrangement. The construction has been awarded to Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ). The port expects to handle a significant increase in trade volume contributing to India’s economic growth.
It expects to transform India’s role in international maritime trade as it has done in the past by connecting Kerala to global trade routes for spice trade. The port has played a significant role in cultural exchange between India and other civilizations including Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Chinese. During the colonial period also the port was critical for European traders including Portuguese, Dutch, French, and Britishers.
Read also: Adani Group’s Vizhinjam Port: Why The Development Is A Big Deal
Touted as the ‘gateway to South Asia’, Vizhinjam Port will reduce the transit times for vessels to international shipments. Being a deep-water port, Vizhinjam can cater to large cargo ships and container vessels which makes it to handle maritime trade efficiently. The port will become a key player in the regional trade by connecting east to the west. New avenues of trade will be opened between Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Today is a historic day for all of us at @Adaniports. A dream has finally come true for Vizhinjam, for Kerala and for India! 🇮🇳
We proudly welcomed the first mothership to Vizhinjam port, marking its debut as the country’s first automated container port. Super proud!… pic.twitter.com/QhtpdKQiLy
— Karan Adani (@AdaniKaran) July 11, 2024
The port’s location is crucial in the maritime map a with a quauntam of more than 50 percent of the world’ seaborne trade creates further opportunities for India. Vizhinjam is strategically poised to emerge as a transshipment hub by consolidate and transfer Indian and regional origin cargo to mainline vessels at lower costs than routing them via Colombo. Earlier, the India-bound or originating cargo traffic was being diverteed to foreing container transhipment ports in Colombo, Jebel Ali, Klang, Salah and Singapore for ‘bulk break’ and transported further through small feeder vessels.
As per the official information the largest mainline vessel capacity of over 20000 TEUs will be handled easily with a 2000 meters of berthing space for containers with a natural draft of around 18-20 meters. This will also boost India’s Sagarmala initiative to enhance India’s maritime connectivity. The transhipment from this port will save India’s large amount of foreign exchange that goes to foreign port s to meet its transshipment needs.
However, it is argued that to be able to function in a fiercely competitive shipping business, the pricing and turnaround time are critical to attract shipping traffic along with the improvement of overland connectivity infrastructure, such as roads and railway links.
