'Proud moment for India', long-awaited dream has become reality, says Chief Minister

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday officially welcomed the first cargo ship docked at the Vizhinjam port. The Chief Minister, who also inaugurated the trial run of the port, said that through Vizhinjam, India has placed itself on the world map.

"Our long-awaited dream has become a reality today. This dream was realised by overcoming several challenges. I want to express my gratitude to everyone who cooperated with it. This is a proud moment for the country. Motherships will come here in large numbers. The biggest feature is that Vizhinjam has become a place where huge container ships across the globe can berth. Although this is a trial run, the operations of Vizhinjam port have commenced with this," the CM said.

He also said that the Vizhinjam port was realised by closing all possibilities of corruption since the Left Front has the stand that Vizhinjam should not turn into a way for corruption.

Mothership San Fernando arrived in Vizhinjam yesterday morning. Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was the chief guest at the trial run held this morning. Ministers VN Vasavan, V Sivankutty, K Rajan, KN Balagopal, Saji Cheriyan, GR Anil, MPs Shashi Tharoor, AA Rahim, M Vincent MLA, Mayor Arya Rajendran, Director General of Shipping Shyam Jagannathan, Adani Group Managing Director Karan Adani, Pradeep Jayaraman, VISL MD Divya S. Iyer and Swami Gururethnam Jnana Thapaswi participated in the function.