PM Modi commissions Vizhinjam seaport; says it will bring economic stability to Kerala and India

Mangalore Today News Network

Thiruvananthapuram, May 2, 2025: Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the Vizhinjam international deep-water transshipment port in Thiruvananthapuram to the nation on Friday by terming the project as a ’symbol of the new age development’.

Political parties trying to claim credit over Kerala’s long pending dream project was evident in the port’s commissioning ceremony too.

While Modi stated that the project could give sleepless nights to some leaders of I.N.D.I.A. bloc, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan highlighted the project as left-front government’s achievement and maintained silence on the key contributions of the previous Congress government in Kerala.

Modi said in his address that the Rs 8,800 crore Vizhinjam port would play a key role in India’s global maritime trade and also help in plugging the revenue loss being suffered by the nation as 75 per cent of transshipment business to India was not happening in ports in other countries.

"The Vizhinjam port will make Kerala a major centre of global maritime trade and the Indian maritime sector will achieve new heights. Port cities will play key role in the Viksit Bharat. Let us work together for building Viksit Kerala," said Modi who opened and concluded his speech in Malayalam.

Appreciating Adani group for setting up the mega project, Modi also pointed out that even a communist minister (Kerala ports minister V N Vasavan) had hailed the contributions of the private partner of the project.

Modi who visited the port’s infrastructure said on a lighter note that the people of Gujarat could be unhappy with Adani as he had set up a mega port in Kerala compared to that in Gujarat.

’Credit’ game!

Vasavan even termed Vijayan as the architect of the port.

Vijayan’s silence about the contribution of the previous Congress government led by Oommen Chandy in kicking off the project’s work by finalising tender and inking the deal with Adani group in 2015 assumed significance as the Congress had been alleging that Vijayan was trying to stake entire claim over the project.

Opposition leader V D Satheesan, who kept off from the commissioning ceremony by alleging that the CPI(M) government was trying to sideline Chandy’s contributions, shared videos of Chandy’s earlier statements on making the port a reality.

Congress also organised programmes on Friday highlighting Chandy’s initiatives in making the project a reality.

The BJP was also staking claims over the project by highlighting it as an achievement of the BJP government at the Centre.

A place given to BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on the dais of the ports commissioning ceremony was also alleged to be part of BJP’s claim-staking agenda.

The roads leading to the port were filled with posters by Congress, CP(M) and BJP staking claims over the project.