Our dream project, says Vijayan after christening Vizhinjam International Seaport

Thiruvananthapuram: The day is getting closer when the first mother ship carrying massive cranes from China will berth at the Vizhinjam International Seaport, the first phase of which is nearing completion.

On Wednesday Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan named the port Vizhinjam International Seaport, Thiruvananthapuram and released its logo at a function.

“This is the dream project of Kerala and when finally commissioned, this is going to throw open the gateway to international marine transshipment which has huge potential. As announced the first ship will berth here early next month and it’s going to bring cheer to every Keralite,” said Vijayan.

According to top port sources, the first ship is expected to berth in the first week of October as it has already set sail from China.

When it arrives in Thiruvananthapuram it will be received by Union Minister of Shipping Sarbananda Sonowal, Vijayan and top officials.

Incidentally, this momentous event takes place after a delay of five years. During the commencement of the port by Adani on December 5, 2015, its founder Gautam Adani had announced that the first ship would berth here on September 1, 2018, in a record time of less than 1,000 days. But the group failed to meet the deadline due to various factors.

At the moment, more than 80 per cent of the first phase of the work at the port is over. Soon after the first ship arrives, seven more ships are scheduled to arrive and the port will be opened to commercial operations in May next year.

Once opened, the port will prove to be a game-changer not just for Kerala but for the entire country as 80 per cent of transshipments to India that currently takes place at Colombo, Singapore and Dubai, will arrive at Vizhinjam.

The project was signed off by the Congress-led UDF government under Chief Minister Oommen Chandy (2011-16) and the work on the port began at the fag-end of Chandy's tenure.

After the Vijayan government took over, due to numerous reasons, the pace set by the Chandy government could not be followed.

After cyclone Ockhi hit the construction site in 2017, a portion of the constructed breakwater was washed away and since then the shortage of limestone, the most important raw material for the project, caused yet another delay.

According to the project, a record one lakh jobs which includes direct and indirect ones will be created and hence the arrival of the first mother ship is eagerly awaited.