Vizhinjam
Post by Vizhinjam International Seaport. വിഴിഞ്ഞം ഇന്റര് നാഷണല് സീപോര്ട്ട്
The Vizhinjam Deepwater Port and Container Transshipment Terminal is a $2 Billion, world-class port and Kerala's flagship infrastructure project. The Government of Kerala as part of its various programs for development of the state, has identified to develop Vizhinjam International deep water Multipurpose Seaport. It has formed a separate company, viz. Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL) as a special purpose Government company (fully owned by Government of Kerala) that would act as implementing agency for development of the greenfield port at Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala. The Ministry of Environment & Forest, Government of India accorded Environmental Clearance to this project.
Vizhinjam International Seaport is a proposed port by the Arabian Sea at Thiruvananthapuram in India. The total project expenditure is pegged at
6595 crores over three phases and is proposed to follow the landlord
port model with a view to catering to passenger, container and other
clean cargo. The port will be one of the largest ports in the World.Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL) is a special purpose government company (fully owned by Government of Kerala) that would act as an implementing agency for the development of a greenfield port - Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multi purpose Seaport- at Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram, capital city of Kerala.
The Vizhinjam Port was originally conceived about 25 years ago. The initial project model was suggested as the Public Private Partnership (PPP)- Private Services model. Two rounds of bidding and tenders called under the PPP model ended up as a failure as a result of various reasons including the inherent un-viability of the project's economic rationale. The first round was granted to a Chinese company that failed to secure the security clearance from the Center, the second round which was first awarded to Lanco Group and then challenged in the Kerala High Court by Zoom Developers led to the eventual withdrawal by Lanco Group.
Advantages of Vizhinjam Port are:
- Availability of 20m contour within one nautical mile from the coast.
- Minimal littoral drift along the coast, hardly any maintenance dredging required.
- Links to national/regional road, rail network
- Flexibility in design and expansion being a Greenfield project
- Proximity to International shipping route
- Vizhinjam is an all-weather port located on the Southern tip of the sub-continent, it is just 10-12 nautical miles from the busy Persian Gulf - Malacca shipping lanes which carry almost a third of the world shipping traffic.
- Central to the eastern and western coast lines of India - can cater to the needs of both west and east coast.
- The proposed transshipment terminal will be an ideal location for attracting mainline vessels ranging from Post Panamax to Malacca-max in a phased manner.
- The proposed site is endowed with natural depth of more than 20 m as close as one Nautical Mile from the sea coast.
- The proposed site has minimal Littoral drift and as such would hardly require any maintenance dredging during the years of operation. This will result in low O&M Costs.
- The proposed port is a Green-field project, away from urban/city limits, and thus can be master planned and shaped by the professional and experienced developer as per his own efficient designs and needs. The Port can turn out to be an efficient, modern and highly productive port with design, expertise and experience of the successful developer having international experience in such ports.
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Once the port is up, Indian exporters will not have to rely on
foreign ports for trans-shipment of cargo. It is expected to save at
least 1000 crores in expenditure annually.
Tourism Potential of Vizhinjam Sea Port
- Kerala was listed as one of the 10 paradises in the world by National Geographic.
- Specialized cruise facilities charging competitive rates can promote significant tourism.
- Kollam, a popular gateway for backwaters & lagoon excursions is less than 2 hours drive.
Importance of Vizhinjam Sea Port
During the last decade, there has been a steady growth of container traffic at the Indian ports. Currently, the majority of these ports rely on direct services or use far off ports for their transshipment needs. This necessitates the establishment of an International Deepwater Seaport and Container Transshipment Terminal in the Southern Indian Peninsula.The port is proposed at Vizhinjam, 16 km away from Thiruvananthapuram, capital of State of Kerala. Kerala being the southern most state in India beset by Arabian Sea. The proposed Vizhinjam port is just 10 nautical miles from the International Shipping Lane. The Vizhinjam port is endowed with a natural seawater depth of up to 24 m as close as one nautical mile from the seacoast. Due to this natural depth, Vizhinjam can attract the largest container vessels currently in operation and also the future mega container carriers. Site needs minimal capital dredging thus the project cost and maintenance cost will be minimum.
Vizhinjam Sea Port Project Details
The port development is proposed to follow the landlord port model where the dredging, reclamation as well as basic external infrastructure work like construction of break-water and quay wall will be taken up by VISL. Further, it is also expected to monitor Land Acquisition, road/rail infrastructure, water and power supply required for the construction and operations of the port on behalf of Government of Kerala (GoK).The port terminal will be developed under Public Private Partnership(PPP) model wherein the construction and operation of the port terminal would be on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. The port development along with the external infrastructure work is envisaged to be carried out in phases with the cumulative cost estimated to be around Rs. 6595 crore. The port is envisaged to provide in total 2000m of quay length in three phases and is designed to cater primarily for containers transshipment, besides providing for other type of cargo such as Multi-Purpose, Break Bulk.
The construction of basic civil infrastructure viz. dredging, land reclamation, construction of breakwaters and quay wall, as also land acquisition, road/rail connectivity and other external infrastructure required in phase 1 and the cost for the same is estimated to be Rs. 3040 crore. The said project cost is proposed to be funded through Rs. 1130 cr as equity from GoK and balance amount is proposed to be raised as debt through loans from banks/ institutions and through bonds.
Proposed project plan for Vizhinjam Sea Port International Container Transshipment Terminal.
| Phase | Berth Length (Meters) | Capacity (Million TEUs) | Project Cost ( Billion) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase-I | 800 | 1.8 | 23.9 |
| Phase-II | 1200 | 3.0 | 11.0 |
| Phase-III | 2000 | 5.3 | 18.6 |
| Total | 53.5 |
How to reach at Vizhinam Sea Port
| Nearest | Name | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Airport | Trivandrum International Airport | 12 km |
| Railway station | Trivandrum Central | 16 km |
| City | Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) | 14 km |
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