Endless opportunities; Kerala will fly on wings of Vizhinjam

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Vizhinjam port is set to become India's gateway for seaborne cargo. The face of the state will change in the fields of industry, commerce, transport and tourism. Ship, container and logistics companies will reach the state.

Companies have started acquiring land from the port area to Kanyakumari for building yards.

Tourist ships with a maximum of 1,500 passengers and 500 crew arrive in Kochi, but even huge cruise ships carrying more than 4,000 passengers and 2,000 crew can touch shore at Vizhinjam. This will be a huge boost to tourism and the economy. Big resorts, star hotels and residential complexes will come up in the capital district.

Vizhinjam will get a leading position in the Dubai-Goa-Colombo-Thailand-Singapore tourism circuit. The benefit will be doubled if those who reach the cruise are facilitated to reach other parts of the state through national waterways.

Ships will keep on coming to Vizhinjam for crew change, the change of duty for the crew. The government got more than 10 crores in 2020-22 when 736 motherships and tankers reached for a crew change. Every time a mother ship visits, the port gets a revenue of one crore. The port can accommodate up to six ships at a time.

Kerala products in world market

• There are many possibilities for industries with the easy delivery of raw materials. Special Economic and Industrial Zones will be established
• Private enterprises will happen on a large scale. Cashew nut, plywood, shoe, textile, fishery and food processing industries will boom.
• Value added products can be exported anywhere in the world. Tax revenue to the government through goods and services
• Renewable energy parks using wind, wave and hydrogen will come up. Seafood parks will be beneficial to the fisheries sector
• Vizhinjam-Mangalore coastal ferry service and Kanyakumari-Kasaragod ferry service will happen. There may be a Vizhinjam-Sri Lanka travel service

84% of cargo transported by sea

Only 16% of the containers arriving at the port are transported by land. 84% of cargo is transported by sea. 1400 crore tunnel railway and 6000 crore outer ring road as national highway connectivity is coming.

20,000 crores

Karan Adani said that when the full operational capacity is achieved in 2028-29, the combined investment of the state and Adani will be 20 thousand crores.