Vizhinjam will help Kerala enter trillion dollar economy: Finance Minister KN Balagopal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Vizhinjam will become the country's largest international port within ten years, said Finance Minister KN Balagopal. "This will enable India to gain an upper hand in the global port trade and commerce sector. Vizhinjam will change the current global trade patterns. This will make Kerala a global industrial hub. Vizhinjam will become a model for environmentally friendly sustainable development," the minister said. The minister was inaugurating the Vizhinjam Conclave-2025 Global Investors' Summit at the Hyatt Regency.

"Vizhinjam, India's first automated port, will be able to handle mother vessels and ultra-large containers. There are only 53 automated ports in the world. The current capacity of one million containers will increase to 6.2 million when the next phases are completed. With this, Vizhinjam will compete with the ports of Dubai and Colombo. Kerala will have connectivity in the global trade sector. Vizhinjam will help Kerala enter the one trillion dollar economy. Vizhinjam Logistics Park will increase Kerala's productivity. Electronics, engineering, food production, green hydrogen, green ammonia industrial clusters and private logistics parks will also come up," the minister said.

Minister P Rajeev said that the idea that Kerala is not industry-friendly is a myth and it is at the top of the Centre's Ease of Doing Business ranking. "We should work as a team for the development of the state, regardless of politics. Kerala, which has 1.16 percent of the country's area and 2.8 percent of the population, contributes 4 percent to the GDP. Vizhinjam will become the new gateway to the country. Although land prices and land availability are issues, an investor-friendly atmosphere is being created," the minister said.

Shashi Tharoor MP, who gave the keynote address, said that the tourism potential of Vizhinjam should also be utilized and Kerala's unique products should be brought to the world market through Vizhinjam. Chief Secretary Saradha Muraleedharan, Industries Principal Secretary APM Muhammed Haneesh, Adani Ports Chief Executive Officer Pranav Chaudhary, KSIDC MD S Harikishore, Executive Director Harikrishnan R, Director of Industries and Commerce Department Mir Muhammed, VISL MD Divya S. Iyer, Maritime Board Chairman N.S. Pillai, KINFRA MD Santosh Koshy Thomas, SBI CGM A Bhuvaneswari, TCCI President S.N. Raghuchandran Nair and others participated. The conclave will conclude today.