As the Kerala
Government and the Adani Group move ahead with the scheduled
launch of the commercial operations of the Vizhinjam International
Seaport by the end of this year (2024), the Union government’s
decision to set up an all-weather greenfield deep-draft major port at Vadhavan
in Maharashtra, billed as the biggest in the country and one of the top 10
ports in the world upon completion, has created a flutter in the State.
The new port to be constructed at ₹76,220 crore,
including land acquisition, is likely to emerge as a strong competitor for the
State which is hopeful of leaping economic activity by banking on the
₹7,700-crore Vizhinjam port project. The total container handling capacity of the Vadhavan
port will be 23.2 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalents), while the capacity of
Vizhinjam in the first phase will be one million TEUs, and the subsequent
phases will see an addition of 6.2 million TEUs.
The Vadhavan project involves the
reclamation of 1,448 hectares of sea and the construction of 10.14 km of
offshore breakwater and container/cargo storage areas, while the breakwater
length in Vizhinjam is 3.1 km.
According to sources, the location of the Vadhavan
project will have a big advantage since it can cater to the entire central,
northern, eastern, and western parts of the country. The road connectivity for the
project is to be done by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and
the rail connectivity by the Ministry of Railways. The port will also be
connected to the national rail network as well as to the dedicated freight
corridor.
Jayakumar,
former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Vizhinjam International Seaport
Limited (VISL), said it was
true that the catchment area of the Vizhinjam port would be confined to four
major south Indian States. “Nevertheless, the Vizhinjam port can stay afloat
considering the proximity of the port to an international shipping channel. The shipping lines will make a direct
call at the Vadhavan port only if there are sufficient container volumes, like
2,000-3,000 TEUs. On the other hand, the shipping lines that pass through
the international shipping channel can make a call at Vizhinjam without
deviating much from the channel and unload containers here even if the volume
is 100 to 1,500 TEUs,” he said, adding that our future lay in the transshipment
of containers.
Kerala would have to ensure a
dedicated road and rail corridor and last-mile connectivity so as to take the
containers to the targeted destination in south India within 48, said sources.