Kerala Govt seeks 600 acre for Vizhinjam Port Industrial Park

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : State government has extended the project implementation committee’s mandate to take over land for port-led industrialisation in relation to the Vizhinjam International Seaport project. In May 2024, Managing Director, VISL, informed that the 58th Board of Directors meeting resolved to dedicate itself to port-led industrialisation, by making use of the potential of the Port.

It was mentioned that to establish an industry ecosystem along the Vizhinjam Port, VISL needs a minimum of 600 acres of land for initiating gateway traffic. The MD, VISL sought approval for the acquisition of 70 – 100 acres of land for establishing a port-led industrial cluster in the Vizhinjam region in close proximity to the port.

The Government reconstituted the empowered committee for bid evaluation as the PIC in 2015 to make key decisions in regard to the concession agreement entered for the project. The committee, which is chaired by the Chief Secretary, consists of ten members.

Vizhinjam, following the successful completion of Phase 1 with a capacity of 10 lakh TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) installed in December 2024, was inaugurated to the nation by the Prime Minister in May 2025. The port is carrying out capacity upgrades to increase its existing capacity threefold prior to 2028 (from 1 million TEUs/yr to 3 million TEUs/yr). It also seeks to finish the last-mile rail connectivity to the port by 2028.

Creating gateway traffic will bring investors to establish industries around the port, particularly those dealing in imports of raw materials and exportation of finished products at competitive prices. This will allow investors to access the international market at competitive prices, as indicated in the government’s order.