PM Opens Vizhinjam Port, Says Capacity Ramp Up Soon

Port to bring back 75% of India's transshipment cargo from foreign shores

- SHINE JACOB

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who formally commissioned the Vizhinjam International Seaport in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, said it would witness a multifold increase in capacity soon. The port, India's first transshipment hub and first deepwater container terminal, is expected to have a capacity of 5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually by 2028.

During the welcome speech, state's Port Minister V N Vasavan called Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani a 'partner'. On this, in his speech at the event, which was marked by political barbs, Modi said: "A Communist minister is calling a businessman like Adani a partner. This is the face of changing India."

In a jibe at the Opposition INDIA bloc, which the Congress leads and of which the Left parties are also constituents, the PM said the presence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor at the commissioning of the seaport would give "sleepless nights" to many.