First ship at Vizhinjam port by September: Kerala CM | Latest News India | Times Of Ahmedabad

Efforts are on to finish the construction of Vizhinjam international port quickly and bring the first ship by September this year, said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday.

The CM was responding to a question raised by Neyyattinkara MLA K Ansalan.

Speaking in the legislative assembly on Friday, the CM said the project will be a game changer for the state as major cities and business centres have come around such mother ports around the world.

Also Read: Vizhinjam port project work to continue come what may: Kerala CM

“We are planning to bring the first ship to the port by September. Work is going on a brisk pace and serious attempts are being made to realise this,” he said, adding with the commissioning of the port, an industrial corridor will be developed in south Kerala.

“It will usher in development in the area. The government is planning to develop industrial parks, logistic centres and many other projects and it will give employment opportunities to many youngsters,” the CM added.

The seaport project was stopped for four months last year after the Latin Catholic church and fishermen’s community allegedly disrupted the construction, alleging it triggered massive coastal erosion that will take away their dwellings and livelihood.

Even though the community sought ongoing works should remain suspended, the government stood its ground.

Their stir was called off on December 6 last year after the state agreed to five of seven demands raised by them. Amid the stir, CM Vijayan assured that the rehabilitation of the coastal people and the protection of their livelihood will remain top priorities for the government.

Adani group is developing the first mother port project of the country in Vizhinjam, 16 km south of the state capital. For now, India is dependent heavily on Colombo, Singapore and Dubai mother ports for the transhipment of heavy cargoes to the country incurring additional cost and time and once Vizhinjam is functional it will bridge the gap.

Also Read: Vizhinjam port stir called off after talks with CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Once it is fully commissioned, the largest mother ship of the world can be anchored here easily, said port officials adding five mother ships can be berthed at a time after its full commissioning.

Conceived three decades ago, the port with 20 m natural depth and 12 nautical miles away from the international ship channel is expected to be a big boost to the industrial growth of south India, experts say.

The Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport, also known as the Vizhinjam Port is an under-construction port on the Arabian Sea coast at the city of Trivandrum. Developed in three phases, the first phase is expected to get completed by September 2023.

The first phase of the project was expected to be commissioned by October 2019 but it was delayed due to cyclone Ockhi in 2017 and the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.