India’s Vizhinjam International Seaport Set to Handle 5.7 Million TEUs Annually After Major Expansion Push

India is also upgrading its maritime infrastructure swiftly with a massive upgrade in the Vizhinjam International Seaport in Kerala, making it a major international transshipment center with the capacity to handle up to 5.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year by 2029. This capacity uplift was during the inauguration of the capacity enhancement activities of the ports of Phase II, Phase III and Phase IV on 24 January 2026 by Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal in Thiruvananthapuram, with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and industry officials.

The expansion is a component of a rapid-tracked integrated development project that is a joint venture between the Government of Kerala and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ). In 2024, under a Supplementary Concession Agreement, the project was accelerated by almost 17 years, with the goal of completion in December 2028, much earlier than it was initially scheduled.

APSEZ has already invested nearly ₹30000 crore in the Vizhinjam project (of which 16000 crore has been reserved towards Phase II). The investment will increase the number of container handling capacity of the port annually by the current 1 million TEUs to about 5.7 million TEUs. Vizhinjam is also the largest single investment in the history of Kerala, and amounts to a long-term strategy by APSEZ to consolidate the Indian maritime trade infrastructure.

The main features of the capacity enlargement are the lengthening of the container berth to a continuous 2-kilometre long one – the longest in India and the lengthening of the breakwater to 3.88 kilometres. The modernization will also entail installation of the advanced ship-to-shore crane and yard crane which will allow it to handle next generation ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) of up to 28,000 TEU, and will also allow it to service up to five mother vessels at once.

The position of the seaport was emphasized by its strategic location: the natural deep draft and the closeness to the east-west routes of international shipping mean that the seaport would have easy access to global maritime transport and the country would not depend on foreign ports like Colombo, Singapore, and Jebel Ali.

During phase I at Vizhinjam which commenced commercial operations in December 2024, has already surpassed its expectations by processing beyond its designed throughput and has exhibited high levels of performance in terms of operation even before the larger expansion plan.

There was also the economic impact of the project by local leaders who said that it will generate jobs, spur the development of other logistical facilities, as well as stimulate overall economic development

 in the area.