Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) is set to invest Rs 13,000 crore in the second phase of expansion at the Vizhinjam International Deepwater Seaport in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The expansion will be entirely self-funded, according to Karan Adani, Managing Director of APSEZ.

The announcement follows the port’s successful trial operations, which began in June last year and have seen it handle 280 ships and six lakh twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of transshipment containers. Currently operating at 90 percent utilisation, the port has a capacity of one million tonne. The second phase will be initiated shortly to accommodate the increasing demand and growing operational throughput.

“The Vizhinjam port’s utilisation level is currently at 90 per cent and the second phase of expansion, fully funded by the company, will be taken up soon,” MD  Karan Adani stated.

The first phase of the project saw a total investment of Rs 7,000 crore, out of which Rs 4,300 crore was funded by Adani Ports. The company is set to receive Rs 1,200 crore this month as viability gap funding from the government. The investment planned for the second phase, 'largely in ports and allied business',  is part of Adani Ports’ broader capital expenditure strategy for the current financial year.