New Delhi: Gautam Adani-led Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ)on Wednesday said it has received Kerala government's nod for developing the Rs 4,089-crore Vizhinjam International Deepwater Seaport project.
The Ahmedabad-headquartered group, which already operates the country's busiest port at Mundra in Gujarat, has received "Letter of Award" for developing the port, Adani Group said in a statement.
The total project cost estimated by the Kerala government is Rs 4,089 crore and the time-frame for commissioning of project is 4 years which will be met by Adani Group based on its past execution record, it added.
"We are very happy to be a part of this prestigious project. We acknowledge the support of Kerala government to develop this deep water multi cargo port in the country.
"It is a strategic location being very close to international shipping route and has the potential to become the biggest trans-shipment hub in the region," said Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani.
He added: "This project makes us take one more step towards nation building, committing ourselves to the development of Kerala. This is indeed a very proud moment for us."
The company said it had keenly participated in the tender to ensure that Kerala gets its first deep water multi cargo port and India gets its first deep water trans-shipment port which has been missing till date.
At present, about one million TEUs of Indian cargo is getting trans-shipped through foreign ports like Colombo.
Development of Vizhinjam port will help in cost saving to Indian trade as the boxes can be trans-shipped at a lower cost from Vizhinjam port.
The proposed port at Vizhinjam is located in Kerala, 16 kms south of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram. The port location is selected to tap the potential of development as a deep water international multi-cargo port.
The proposed site is on the international shipping route connecting Europe, Persian Gulf and the Far East, very close to the east-west shipping axis within 10 nautical miles.
APSEZ also operates ports in Mundra, Hazira,Tuna-Tekra (Kandla) and Dahej, in Gujarat, Dhamra in Odisha and operates specialised coal handling facilities in Mormugao in Goa, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. It is currently setting up a container terminal in Ennore in Tamil Nadu.
APSEZ is part of the Adani Group which is one of India's leading business houses with revenue of over USD 10 billion.
