The Centre has given sanction to Adani’s Vizhinjam Port in Kerala to operate as a transshipment port -- a first for the country. A transshipment port is a crucial hub where cargo is transferred from one big vessel to several smaller ones before they reach the final port of discharge. It will now help India in its ambition to become a manufacturing hub.

Approximately 75 per cent of India’s transshipment cargo is currently processed at ports overseas, with destinations such as Colombo, Singapore, and Klang handling about 85 per cent of this cargo. The proposal to designate it as a customs-notified port has also been made.

Originally targeted for completion within four years by 2019, the Rs 7,700 crore deep water seaport project is now anticipated to commence operations within the current financial year. The project aims to capture a portion of the Indian cargo market, which amounts to over a million containers transshipped annually through foreign ports like those in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Container volumes are measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), with each TEU approximately representing a standard-sized container.

According to APSEZ, the port provides extensive automation to ensure rapid vessel turnaround, coupled with cutting-edge infrastructure capable of handling Megamax containerships, which are currently the largest vessels in operation worldwide.

In its initial phase, the port’s capacity is set to accommodate one million TEUs, with an additional 6.2 million TEUs planned for subsequent phases.