Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], March 11 (ANI): Vizhinjam International Seaport has received the necessary clearance from the Union Environment Ministry for the next two phases of development, informed Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday, affirming this nod from the government will help work at the port is completed by 2028.

'A major milestone for Kerala's maritime sector as the @PortOfVizhinjam gets environmental clearance from @moefcc for the next 2 phases of development,' the Chief Minister wrote on X.

This clearance, he said, will ensure that the port is completed by 2028, way ahead of its schedule, unlocking new opportunities for maritime trade and industrial growth.

Vizhinjam Port in Kerala is India's first deep-water container transhipment port. Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, an Adani Group company, is developing it.

In July 2024, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal received the first Mother Ship, MV San Fernando, marking the beginning of operation at India's first deepwater container transhipment port in Vizhinjam.

It is also India's first automated port equipped with state-of-the-art technology. This technology offers large-scale automation for quick vessel turnarounds and the capacity to handle mega max containerships.

Once completed, the port's handling capacity will increase to 30 lakh TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), positioning it as a key player in the global trade network.

Vizhinjam seaport is close to the famous Kovalam beach. It has water connectivity to many regional and international ports. This is the first transshipment port in the country. Before this, India was dependent on the ports of Colombo, Dubai and Singapore for transshipment.

Built on the public-private partnership, Vizhinjam International Port's construction started in 2016. The project was allotted to APSEZ on December 5, 2015, after the Government of Kerala and Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Ltd. (AVPPL) agreed to a concession agreement on August 17, 2015.

Adani Group is a diversified organisation that operates in various sectors, from ports to airports, cement to transmission lines, edible oil to solar power projects.

APSEZ has 15 ports--seven strategically located ports and terminals on the west coast (Mundra, Tuna, Dahej, and Hazira in Gujarat, Mormugao in Goa, Dighi in Maharashtra and Vizhinjam in Kerala) and 8 ports and terminals on the East coast of India (Haldia in West Bengal, Dhamra and Gopalpur in Odisha, Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Kattupalli and Ennore in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal in Puducherry, representing about 27 per cent of the country's total port volumes.

The Adani Group company is also developing a transshipment port in Colombo, Sri Lanka, operates the Haifa Port in Israel and a container terminal in Dar es Salaam Port, Tanzania. (ANI)