Adani plans to spend $20 billion by 2030 at the Vizhinjam port

 Adani plans to spend $20 billion by 2030 at the Vizhinjam port

On the day the planned transhipment port welcomed its maiden ship, Karan Adani, managing director and chief executive, said that Adani Ports will spend 20,000 crore in Kerala's Vizhinjam Transhipment port by 2030.

The Zhen Hua 15 was officially welcomed by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other guests, carrying cranes ordered for the port's development. Towing rigs saluted the arriving vessel with water. The port's opening is expected to represent a significant turning point in the state's infrastructure development process between May and December of next year.

The port is being built by Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt. Ltd., and according to Rajesh Jha, managing director and CEO of the company, the project has already gotten $7,700 crore in investment in its initial stage, alongside the company investing between $2,500 and $3,000 and the rest coming from the state and federal governments, including viability gap funding.

The only transhipment port in India having a natural depth of more than 18 meters is Vizhinjam, which is essential for drawing big ships. In contrast to many other domestic and international ports, it is just 10 nautical miles off the international shipping route, enabling ships to land more quickly without straying too much from their course.

Additionally, it has strategic importance. Vizhinjam has the potential to dramatically lessen dependency on foreign transhipment hubs like the Colombo port in Sri Lanka, which is backed by Chinese firms.

The Adani group also depends on the Vizhinjam project. Currently, 580 million tonnes (mt) of cargo may be moved annually via the 13 ports or terminals operated by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ). The port operator moved 339.2 mt of cargo in FY23. The goal of APSEZ is to handle 1 billion tonnes of cargo by 2030, making it the biggest port operator in the world. Vizhinjam will hasten APSEZ's expansion and help us realize our goals, according to Adani.

"This port is a transhipment port, unlike others. For us, it is of the utmost importance. It is also crucial from a strategic perspective. We can now move from any of our ports thanks to this. We will be able to provide a solution to all of our ports due to its proximity to Colombo. This is an aggregation point when we consider the whole coast, he said.

According to him, "two to three anchor shipping lines" are very interested in moving their bases to Vizhinjam, and the business is thinking about making exclusive agreements with them. They are dissatisfied in other ports. There is a certain amount of space, he remarked. Vizhinjam will provide greater infrastructure, better depth, and linkage with main trade routes, he said, in addition to the benefit of free pricing.

"Vessel size is expanding along the international commerce route. The typical size of ships will increase from the present 6,000–8,000 TEUs to 12–15,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) during the next ten years. With greater depth, Vizhinjam can accommodate 20,000 TEU ships, according to Adani.

He said that Adani Ports has free cash flows of between 7,000 and 8,000 crores and would spend between 5,000 and 6,000 crores annually in capital expenditures.