Overview
- The Kerala government announced on Saturday that full export-import (EXIM) operations at Vizhinjam International Seaport will start on August 18, with Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan set to flag off the first export container and host a Mission Samudra business summit.
- Vizhinjam was built as a public–private partnership with Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) and has handled about 2 million TEUs in 18 months while operating as India’s first deep-water transshipment port and South Asia’s first fully automated container facility.
- The state frames EXIM services as a way to reduce logistics and freight costs, speed up supply chains, improve export competitiveness and generate new investment and jobs across Kerala’s maritime and logistics sectors.
- Officials say a second construction phase is targeted for December 2028 to expand capacity to roughly 5.7 million TEUs, though that projection is reported as a planned target rather than a newly completed milestone.
- Kerala positions Vizhinjam as an open-access, common-user gateway intended to draw global shipping lines and challenge regional hubs such as Colombo, and observers should watch shipping line commitments and container volumes after the August launch.