Vizhinjam International Seaport: a landlord port with an 18 m natural draft on a 40-year concession
Background
The Chief Minister's plan of October 2026 to turn Kerala into one port city rests on Vizhinjam International Seaport, the subject of a proposed share sale to MSC. The port is implemented by Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL), a Government of Kerala undertaking. It follows a landlord port model, with operations under a public-private partnership. The concessionaire is Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Ltd (AVPPL), on a 40-year concession from 2015 to 2054; the concession agreement was executed on 17 August 2015. The port has a natural draft of 18 m, scalable to 20 m. Phase 1 has a capacity of 1 million TEUs, with an 80-hectare terminal and an 800-metre quay; later phases take capacity to 2.5 million and 3.3 million TEUs. It is linked by a 10.7 km rail line to Balaramapuram and lies about 16 km from Trivandrum International Airport.
In plain words
TEU Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit — The standard unit for measuring container capacity.
Landlord port model Port owned by a public authority, operated by a private concessionaire — The public body owns the port and land while a concessionaire runs operations.