The Vizhinjam Port Receives Final Approval from The Shipping Ministry
As per Adani updates, the Vizhinjam port, one of the major ports operating under the Adani Group, has finally received approval from the shipping ministry for operating in India as the country’s first transhipment port. This is a huge achievement for the Adani Group in the port sector. It will strengthen Adani Group’s hold over the port sector and will also encourage the global conglomerate to take up more ventures in this particular growth segment.
The final node received from the shipping ministry:
As per current regulations, a port requires approval from the shipping ministry to prevent competing projects from being permitted before the capacity at an operational port is saturated. This approval received by the Vizhinjam port from the shipping ministry has finally built the path for the customs department to set up an office within the Vizhinjam port premises. The port is going to be the first deepwater transhipment port in India. As per Adani updates, it is also expected to receive the necessary approvals from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs within the next few months.
The operations of the Vizhinjam port:
APSEZ, which is responsible for operating the Vizhinjam port, started working on this international transhipment project in December 2015. Since then, the company has been trying its best to ensure that the project gets completed within a record time. According to Adani updates, the initial goal of APSEZ was to complete the entire INR 7,700 crore deep water seaport project within four years by 2019, but the port operations are expected to start this financial year.
How will the Vizhinjam port facilitate enhanced trade activities in India?
The Vizhinjam port will open up new shipping routes for our country. It will also help us build enhanced trade relations with neighboring countries. A transhipment port is basically a transit hub where cargo from one ship is transferred to another ship on its way to its final destination. These transhipment ports have a big role to play in ensuring that the cargo capacity is maintained. They also offer countries with enhanced profitability. According to the officials of APSEZ, the Vizhinjam port has large-scale automation capabilities. This allows for a quick turnaround of vehicles. The port is also equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure. This will enable it to handle megamax container ships, which are the largest container vessels currently operating in India.
With the project being operational, the container ships will no longer have to be transferred to foreign ports. Instead, they can make use of Indian ports. This will help increase revenue generation for India. The prosperity of our Indian ports sector will also increase. The capacity of the Vizhinjam port in the first phase is expected to be 1 million TEUs. Another 6.2 million TEUs will be added during the subsequent phases of the project. As per estimations, over 75% of India’s transhipment cargo is handled at different ports outside the country. Around 85% of this capacity is handled by the major ports in Singapore, Colombo, and Klang. After the Vizhinjam port becomes operational at full force, these dependencies gradually reduce.
The Adani Group’s hold over India’s port sector:
The Adani Group is currently one of India’s biggest players in the port sector. It has some of the biggest ports under its control. Although the business group started its journey with the Indian port sector, it has started to operate in the international sector as well. Today, some of the major international ports, including the Haifa port and the Colombo port, are also under the jurisdiction of the Adani Group. With time, the business group will continue to bring more ports under its control. This will give the global conglomerate enormous growth and prosperity. It will also end up becoming the biggest name in the global port sector.
In this way, the Vizhinjam port will open up multiple new opportunities for the Adani Group and India. With this port being operational, our cargo capacity will double. We will also not have to depend on other ports to handle our cargo. This will turn out to be a huge milestone for the Indian port sector. It will also serve as an encouragement for the Adani Group to take up more ventures in the upcoming years.