India’s Deepest Port To Open For Berthing In March

In a major development, Adani Ports will be getting 400 crore rupees from the Kerala government for building the breakwater of the Vizhinjam port. The amount will be awarded when 30% of the work is completed.

This was part of the agreement between the two, but the state government was caught in debt, so that they couldn’t make the allocation. However, time has run out, and the government has no choice but to take a loan from HUDCO.

When the government cleared this project, Adani Ports was the only bidder available, and they had asked for a 1635 crore rupees grant for this. They have the operating rights of the port for 40 years with an additional 20 years extension, and the government gets a part of the revenue after 15 years.

Work for building the port started on December 5, 2015. 

Initially, the plan was to open it for the first berthing on September 1, 2018, but the project couldn’t be completed, and now the State Ports Minister has revealed that the first berthing will happen in March 2023.

The port’s first phase will be commissioned in 2023. 

So far, the government has allocated 500 acres of land for this project which has a cumulative cost of 7525 crore rupees.

This is slated to be the deepest port in India, with 80% of transhipments transiting from here.