Context:
Recently, Vizhinjam Port has received environment nod for phase II, III development.
Vizhinjam International Seaport:
- Location – Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram)
- India’s 1st Deepwater Container Trans-shipment Port
- Developed in landlord model with a Public Private Partnership component on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (“DBFOT”) basis.
- Landlord model – Port authority acts as regulatory body and as landlord, while port operations (especially cargo handling) are carried out by private companies (Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt Ltd in this case).
- Importance of location of Vizhinjam –
- Proximity to international shipping routes connecting Europe, the Gulf and East Asia.
- A natural water depth of 18-20 m within a kilometre off the coast, suitable to accommodate very large mother vessels.
- Located on minimal littoral drift resulting in limited maintenance dredging.
- Ideal location for fuel bunkering.
Trans-shipment Hub:
- Trans-shipment hubs are ports that have connections to originating and destination ports
- Used as intermediate port for cargo transfer.
- Nearly 75% of India’s Trans-shipment cargo is handled at ports outside India.
- Ports of Colombo, Singapore, and Klang handle more than 85% of this cargo.
Click here to download Major Ports in India – Map
Source: BL
Previous Year Question
Consider the following pairs:
Port: Well known as
1. Kamarajar Port: First major port in India registered as a company
2. Mundra Port: Largest privately owned port in India
3. Visakhapatnam: Largest container port in Port India
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2023 Prelims]
(a) Only one pair
(b) Only two pairs
(c) All three pairs
(d) None of the pairs
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
Mundra Port, India’s biggest commercial port by volumes, has overtaken state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) to become the country’s largest container gateway by handling 5.65 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in FY21, posting a growth of 18 per cent compared to last year. Hence, Pair 3 is not correctly matched.