Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and others during the inauguration of the Vizhinjam International Seaport in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday officially commissioned the Vizhinjam International Seaport, which was completed at an estimated cost of ₹8,867 crore, and said the facility will bring economic stability to Kerala and India.
Speaking after commissioning the port, Modi referred to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as a “pillar” of the Opposition INDIA bloc and told him and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, both of whom were on the dais, that the inauguration event would give “sleepless nights” to many.
PM Modi took a swipe at the Congress, saying the presence of Tharoor at the commissioning of the Vizhinjam International Seaport here will give "sleepless nights" to many. Modi’s direct mention of Tharoor's presence at the event comes at a time when the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram is being accused by his own party colleagues of going soft on the BJP after the Pahalgam terror attack.
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However, the person translating his speech did not translate it properly, and it prompted Modi to say: “The message has gone across to whom it was meant.”
Tharoor has also been criticised by some Congress leaders for praising India’s deft diplomacy on the Russia-Ukraine conflict under Modi's leadership.
Tharoor, who received Modi on his arrival on Thursday, posted on X: “Despite delays at the dysfunctional Delhi airport, managed to land in Thiruvananthapuram in time to receive Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his arrival in my constituency. Looking forward to his officially commissioning Vizhinjam port, a project I am proud to have been involved with since its inception."
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala assembly VD Satheesan did not attend the commissioning of the Vizhinjam port, protesting the late invitation extended to him for the function.
Giving details of the development in the country, Modi said that India was among the top three nations globally on the number of seafarers and, in the last 10 years, the capacity of our ports has doubled, their efficiency improved and the turnaround time there decreased by 30 per cent.
Modi further said that the seaport has been constructed at a cost of ₹8,800 crore, and its trans- shipment hub capacity is set to triple in the near future.
“It is designed to accommodate large cargo ships, addressing a critical need. Until now, 75 per cent of India's trans-shipment activities were conducted at foreign ports, resulting in significant revenue losses for the country. However, this is poised to change. The funds previously spent abroad will now be channelled into domestic development, creating new economic opportunities for the people of Vizhinjam and Kerala, thus ensuring that the nation's wealth directly benefits its citizens," he said.
Describing the commissioning of the seaport as a proud moment for Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said it was not just a port, but a gateway to development prospects of the third millennium.
“This is a dream come true for Kerala. The port opens a link for India to the global maritime, trade and logistics map,” Vijayan said in his presidential address at the commissioning ceremony. He claimed that the determination of the LDF government had revived the project from oblivion and turned it into an international seaport.
Citing the port’s salient features, Vijayan said it is for the first time a state government is in the forefront of a port construction. Kerala government is spending ₹5,370.86 crore out of the total project cost of ₹8,686 crore, he said.
The Adani Group is spending ₹2,497 crore of the project cost, while the Centre will be providing the Viability Gap Fund (VGF) of ₹818 crore, the CM said.
With the commissioning of the port, the country can gradually reduce the annual loss of US $220 million incurred while diverting transhipment cargo to foreign ports, he said.
The Vizhinjam project had started its commercial operations well ahead of schedule in 2024. More than 250 ships had anchored at the port since then and its first phase has been commissioned now. All the three phases of the project will be commissioned by the year 2028, the CM said.
The government had to overcome several hurdles that came before the project, including natural disasters, floods and the Covid-19 epidemic, Vijayan said. “We did not take a step back during these difficult periods, and the construction company was also very supportive,” he said.
Without mentioning the role played by previous Congress-led UDF governments, Vijayan said the project was formulated by the LDF government that came to power in 1996.
He said that in 2009 during the next LDF rule, an international finance corporation was authorised to float tenders, but the Centre did not accord sanction to carry forward the project.
An agreement was signed by the previous government which faced several criticisms, he said, without mentioning Ommen Chandy’s name or the protests against the project by the LDF.
The Chief Minister said the LDF government which came to power in 2016 took up the project with vigour as it felt that “politics should not come in the way of development”. He said the many attempts to spread misunderstanding among the people about the project were defeated. The rehabilitation and livelihood problems faced by coastal people were solved by spending ₹120 crore.
The CM said the project would create more than 5,000 direct job opportunities. “The port will largely help the growth of the state and the nation on a great scale,” he said.
Earlier, in his welcome speech, Kerala Ports Minister VN Vasavan praised Chief Minister Vijayan as a ‘Karmayogi’ and termed him as the “architect” of the Vizhinjam port.
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