'Rs 75 crore in GST, 1 million TEUs'; The miracle port in Kerala

Countless attempts were made to stymie the Vizhinjam project from turning into a reality. Those inane efforts are not forgotten with the passage of time. Fortunately, all those efforts stumbled. At one point, even people masquerading as experts sat on media presaging doomsday if the project were to turn a reality. When the central government introduced the Vande Bharat elite trains in the country, naysayers who supported the K-Rail project prophesied that the Vande Bharat project would fail in Kerala, as an ordinary person would not splash this much money to travel across the breadth of the state. A similar campaign was also carried out against the Kochi Metro. However, none of the prophecies came true. Metro has found success of late, while Vande Bharat in Kerala ranks among the top in the country for occupancy rate.

Kochi Metro had a mediocre start and suffered little loss at the initial stage. However, now, the metro is reaping profits with the public relying on it for their daily commute. Similarly, Vizhinjam also had a slow start before it turned into a miracle. The port was operational within nine months and reached its full capacity. The container movement of the Vizhinjam port has crossed 1 million. Minister V.N. Vasavan announced in a press conference that Vizhinjam has become the first port in the world to achieve this goal in such a short time.

So far, 10.12 lakh containers have been handled in 460 ships. Currently, Vizhinjam is ranked first on the southeast coast of India for container movement. The arrival of huge motherships at Vizhinjam during the trial run period has led to such great success. According to the contract, three lakh containers were to be handled in the first year. However, the operation of semi-automated cranes has become crucial in container handling. If the road-rail connectivity is also completed, there will be a big change in the current operation as a transhipment port.

The minister announced that the construction of the road from the port to the national highway will be completed, and domestic cargo movement will start by December. Once the railway tunnel is ready, Vizhinjam will present great surprises in terms of profits. Land acquisition procedures have begun for the construction of the railway. Of the Rs 1482 crore allocated for the project, Rs 582 crore has been spent so far. The remaining land acquisition and the ring road project need to be expedited on a war footing. When ten lakh containers were handled, the central and state governments received Rs 75 crore in GST.

The Vizhinjam business miracle is now the hot topic of debate even in the international arena. When road-rail connectivity is also available, Vizhinjam will become a single-window system connecting the country's industrial world. The foreign port operators predicted this, and so it was their ploy to use various narratives and protests to stymie the port project in Kerala. Even if it took some years, we have battered them badly. Ahed are the days to thrive for the state and the country.