Vizhinjam to emerge as India's biggest Port: Kerala Finance Minister

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], January 28 (ANI): Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal on Tuesday announced that Vizhinjam is set to become India's largest port within the next decade, establishing a new benchmark in the nation's maritime and port trade.
Speaking at the Vizhinjam Conclave 2025 and Global Investment Summit held at the Hyatt Regency on Tuesday, he emphasized the port's transformative potential in positioning India as a significant player in the global shipping and logistics market.
Organised by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), Invest Kerala, Vizhinjam International Seaport, and the Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the summit brought together key stakeholders to discuss the port's strategic importance.
The Minister hailed Vizhinjam as a game-changer for India's maritime sector, highlighting its natural deep-water capabilities, with depths ranging from 18 to 25 meters, and its proximity to international shipping lanes, enabling it to accommodate the world's largest vessels. Currently capable of handling one million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the port is expected to expand its capacity to 6.2 million TEUs in the future. With this growth, Vizhinjam is projected to handle 15 percent of India's container transshipment, challenging the dominance of ports like Colombo and Dubai.
He further underlined Vizhinjam's role in driving Kerala towards becoming a $1 trillion economy, supported by the state's robust infrastructure, including air connectivity through four international airports, two major seaports, and 17 minor ports, as well as a vast inland navigation network.
Efforts to complement the port's development include plans by the Kerala Maritime Board and private stakeholders to establish logistics parks and modernize existing ports. An outer growth corridor spanning 70 kilometers from Vizhinjam to Navaikulam will house industrial clusters with plug-and-play infrastructure to attract investors.
Industries Minister P Rajeeve, who also addressed the gathering, described Vizhinjam as the new gateway to India. Highlighting Kerala's productivity despite its limited land area--accounting for only 1.16 per cent of the country's geographical size while contributing 4 percent to the national GDP--he outlined plans for a large-scale outer area growth corridor. The project aims to address land constraints by pooling resources to create residential, commercial, and industrial zones, ensuring a conducive environment for investors through seamless collaboration between political leadership, bureaucracies, and the industrial sector.
MP Shashi Tharoor termed the realisation of the Vizhinjam International Seaport as a historic moment, noting that Vizhinjam has been a bustling port since the Sangam period in the fourth century. He added that the addition of a cruise terminal would elevate Vizhinjam's status beyond a transshipment hub, turning it into a major tourism destination.
This development, he said, would benefit not only Kerala but also the southern tip of Tamil Nadu, enabling local products and services to reach global markets and fostering the growth of industries in the region.(ANI)