Adani Ports to invest ₹13,000 crore to expand capacity at Vizhinjam transshipment port

The Hindu

02-05-2025

Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd (APSEZ), the ports and logistics company of the Adani Group, will invest about ₹13000 crore to further expand the capacity of the Vizhinjam International Deepwater Seaport at Thiruvananthapuram, which was on Friday (May 2, 2025) dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While the first phase of the project, India's first transshipment port, has been operational since last year taking very large ships, the additional investment will be made in the second phase of expansion which is scheduled to complete in 2028.
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The Public Private Partnership (PPP) project has come up with an investment of ₹7,000 crore, in which APSEZ's contribution is ₹4,300 crore, Karan Adani, Managing Director, APSEZ said.
Answering a question from The Hindu, Mr Adani said, 'We will invest ₹12,000 crore to ₹13,000 crore in the second phase, and the entire money will be invested by APSEZ.'
He said the company has approval for the second phase of expansion and the port's capacity would be increased to 5 million TEUs from 1 million TEUs currently.
He said for the second phase the breakwater will be expanded by another 900 meters and the size of the berth will increase by 12 meters.
The current length is the breakwater, which has been constructed in water depths of 18 to 20 meters. The overall height of the breakwater is 28 meters (which is equivalent to a 9-storey building). This is the deepest breakwater constructed in the country at a cost of ₹1,387 crore, which is fully funded by Government of Kerala.
In 2015 the Kerala government signed an agreement with APSEZ to develop the port and Adani has a 40-year concession to build, operate, and transfer the port, with a provision for a 20-year extension.
The port commenced trial operations in July 2024, receiving its first mothership, the San Fernando.
In September 2024 and April 2025, it received the MSC Claude Girarde and MSC Türkiye, listed among world's ultra large container vessels and largest vessels ever visited an Indian Port.
Since start operation, the Port has handled more than 280 vessels and 6 lakh TEUs.
The port has a natural deep draft of 18m close to shore that requires no capital dredging, Vizhinjam can leverage its natural depth to host even ultra-large next-gen container ships requiring 20m+ drafts.
It features India's tallest ship-to-shore cranes and is equipped with AI-powered vessel traffic management systems.
Situated 10 nautical miles from the international east–west shipping route, Vizhinjam is poised to become a pivotal transshipment hub, reducing India's reliance on ports like Colombo, Singapore, and Dubai.
Mr Adani said port is expected to significantly lower logistics costs for Indian manufacturers by 30-40%, enhancing the country's export competitiveness.
He said the port will play a crucial role in India's maritime infrastructure.
In FY26 APSEZ has announced to invest ₹12,000 crore at it's various ports in India and abroad. He said the company was looking for opportunities in South East Asia and East Africa.
At a function organised at the port Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the capacity of this transshipment hub will triple in the coming years, enabling the smooth arrival of some of the world's largest cargo ships.
He pointed out that 75% of India's transshipment operations were previously conducted at foreign ports, leading to significant revenue loss for the country.
Emphasising that this situation is now set to change, he asserted that India's money will now serve India and the funds that once flowed outside the country will now generate new economic opportunities for Kerala and Vizhinjam's people.