The Kerala government has granted in-principle approval for major logistics infrastructure and a marine fuel bunkering facility at Vizhinjam, marking a significant step in building an integrated port-led industrial ecosystem around the deepwater transhipment hub. The clearances cover multimodal logistics parks to be developed by central PSUs, along with land allotment for Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to set up an international-standard bunkering complex.
Two multimodal logistics parks will come up near the Vizhinjam International Seaport, backed by Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) and Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), with the state issuing formal orders and MoUs expected to be signed shortly in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. These parks are planned as key nodes for container yards, warehousing and value-added services, aimed at capturing cargo aggregation, distribution and industrial activity triggered by Vizhinjam’s growing transhipment and gateway traffic.
IOC has been offered 20 acres on a 30–40-year lease in the first phase, against its request for 30–40 acres, to develop a marine bunkering facility with tank farms and access to designated bunker jetties, with provision to allocate an additional 20 acres within a year. The bunkering project will enable ships calling at Vizhinjam to refuel locally in line with international standards, cutting reliance on foreign ports for fuel and bolstering the port’s position as a competitive refuelling and service hub on the main East–West shipping lane.
