Adani Gets Modi’s Blessing as It Expands Mega India Port

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Adani Group’s mega port in Kerala will bring economic opportunities to the country while speaking at an on-site event on May 2, showing the solid political support billionaire Gautam Adani enjoys despite an ongoing U.S. bribery probe. 

The Vizhinjam transshipment terminal, which began operations in July 2024, will have a capacity of 5 million TEUs by 2028, Karan Adani, managing director of Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. told reporters after the event, where Modi and Adani shared the stage while showcasing this project.

Modi’s endorsement not only bolsters the port-to-power Adani conglomerate, it also signals that the overhang around the U.S. indictment could be easing for Asia’s second-richest person. The port, however, is coming at a time when President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff moves have rattled global supply chains and depressed container traffic, especially those headed to the U.S. Just last month, shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S had criticized tariffs’ impact on trade.

Karan Adani told reporters that India was not seeing a dip in maritime trade and was in fact in a “sweet spot.” 

“It’s a little bit of a misnomer,” the billionaire’s elder son said. “We assume that India is getting affected because Europe and China are getting affected by the trade war.” 

The Vizhinjam port has handled about 250 container ships so far, and is forecast to attract about 95 billion rupees ($1.1 billion) in additional investment, according to people familiar with the internal plans who didn’t want to be identified.

The port, which was “dedicated to the nation” by Modi on May 2, is just 10 nautical miles from global shipping routes, Adani Ports said in a full-page local newspaper advertisement a day before. 

The investment across all phases will be around 180 billion rupees, the advertisement added.

Largest Ships

Strategically positioned also near key international shipping channels with natural depths of up to 20 meters, Vizhinjam will be able to host the largest container ships, which in the past skipped India and instead docked at ports in Colombo, Dubai and Singapore.

“Given the country’s growing trade volumes with the global market, the port will play a critical role in reducing supply chain risks for Indian exports and imports,” said Afaq Hussain, director at New Delhi-based consultancy Bureau of Research on Industry and Economic Fundamentals. 

For Modi, Adani’s deepwater transshipment terminal has geopolitical significance because it puts India on the global maritime map, which is currently dominated by China. About 75% of India’s transshipped cargo is handled by ports overseas.

Indian ports have been losing an estimated $220 million in potential revenue annually due to this, and businesses are bearing additional costs of $80 to $100 per container, the people said.

Major Routes

Vizhinjam is expected to facilitate the movement of transshipment traffic into India as well as on the major routes between the U.S., Europe, Africa and East Asia.

Hussain said a significant amount of India’s cargo gets routed via the Colombo port, which has significant Chinese presence. Vizhinjam has the potential to reduce this dependence.

Geneva-headquartered Mediterranean Shipping Co. in March included Vizhinjam for its Jade shipping service route from Europe to Asia, connecting ports in China, South Korea, Singapore, Spain and Italy, according to an Adani Group spokesperson.

“If full-fledged operations begin as planned by 2028–29, the facility could significantly boost cargo movement across Adani’s wider network of ports and terminals along the east and west coasts” of India, Hussain said.