India's first transshipment port Vizhinjam nears operational launch

The Vizhinjam port will also be the first mega port to come up since 1999 when Mundra began operations

India’s first transshipment port should be able to receive its first commercial cargo ship before September ends. Though it is a busy season for announcements in the Indian maritime sector, with the government clearing the development of Vadhavan port at a cost of Rs 76,220 crore in June this year, the opening of Vizhinjam, just south of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, is most significant.

It checks all the boxes to become a thriving port for nautical reasons. Those it does not are mostly in the political realm. For instance, in the second phase, the port plans to build