PM Modi dedicates Vizhinjam port to nation, India’s first transshipment hub

Credit: @PortOfVizhinjam/X

Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially dedicated the Vizhinjam International Seaport in Kerala to the nation on Friday. Although the port began commercial operations nearly five months ago in December 2024, this marks its formal commissioning.

Located near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Vizhinjam is India’s first deepwater container terminal and the country’s first transshipment hub, a port where cargo is transferred from one ship to another for international shipping.

Senior Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor welcomed PM Modi upon his arrival in Thiruvananthapuram. "Despite delays at the dysfunctional Delhi airport, managed to land in Thiruvananthapuram in time to receive Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his arrival in my constituency," the Congress MP wrote while sharing photos in which he was seen welcoming PM Modi with warm handshake.

"Looking forward to his official commissioning of Vizhinjam port, a project I have been proud to have been involved with since its inception," he wrote.

The Vizhinjam project, estimated at Rs 8,900 crore, started construction in December 2015 and is being developed in multiple phases. Phase-I is already operational, while the remaining phases are expected to be completed by December 2028.

The seaport is being developed under a public-private partnership between the Kerala government and Adani Ports and SEZ. So far, Rs 5,000 crore has already been invested, and Karan Adani, the managing director, recently announced plans to invest Rs 20,000 crore more in the project.

Former MD and CEO of Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd, A S Suresh Babu, explained the tendering process that led to Adani winning the contract in 2015. “In 2014, the fourth tender was out, and almost five leading companies qualified in that tender. Only three of them purchased the tender documents,” he said.

“Finally, Adani submitted the price bid and the agreement was signed in September 2015,” Babu added. “It is a very good thing that we're getting an international transhipment port here. This is a project for India, and Adani is the concessionaire. I am sure that with their expertise, they'll be able to do a good job,” he told ANI.

In April 2025, the port welcomed the MSC Turkiye, the world’s largest eco-friendly container ship operated by the Mediterranean Shipping Company. At nearly 400 metres in length, the ship marked Vizhinjam’s growing global relevance.

In February 2025, Vizhinjam ranked first among 15 ports in southern and eastern India in cargo handling, managing 78,833 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from 40 vessels. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hailed this growth as “a key step in our development journey.”