India’s first deep‑water container trans‑shipment hub, Vizhinjam International Seaport near Thiruvananthapuram, has completed one year of limited‑scale operations. Since receiving its maiden mother vessel on 12 July 2024 and formally commissioning commercial service that December, the Adani‑developed terminal has handled about 395 ships, including 23 ultra‑large container carriers such as the record‑setting MSC Irina, and moved 8.4 lakh TEUs of cargo—reaching full capacity utilisation within months.
With the initial 800‑metre berth and 3‑km breakwater now operating at peak efficiency, Adani Vizhinjam Ports Pvt Ltd will launch the project’s second and third development phases by late September or early October. Plans call for extending the breakwater by 1 km, lengthening the berth by 1.2 km and expanding container yards, crane fleets and related infrastructure—an additional ₹10,000 crore investment that will eventually let five mother vessels berth simultaneously. Crane numbers will rise from 32 to 90, including 20 ship‑to‑shore units.
Despite rapid maritime growth, the port still lacks dedicated rail and highway links for EXIM cargo; those corridors are slated for completion only by 2028, though a concessionaire‑built road to the National Highway should open within three months. Once landside connectivity matches sea‑side capacity, officials say Vizhinjam can fulfil its promise as the fulcrum of India’s bid to become a global logistics powerhouse while adding thousands more jobs to the coastal economy.