Kerala Government Expresses its Displeasure Over 49 Per Cent Stake Acquisition in Adani Vizhinjam Port
CM writes to Adani Ports, conveying state's opposition to stake transfer to MSC
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Government has voiced its opposition to the announcement that the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) will acquire a 49 per cent stake in Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL), noting that the decision was made without informing or consulting the state.
In a statement on Thursday, the Chief Minister’s office said CM V.D. Satheesan expressed the government’s dissatisfaction to the management of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ).
The government stated that Vizhinjam International Seaport, Kerala’s long-cherished dream project, became a reality through a concession agreement signed with the state. Any changes to the concessionaire’s share structure require government approval. It added that a final position on the issue will be taken after carefully reviewing the relevant provisions, restrictions, and instructions in the agreement.
The government says its goal is to safeguard the state’s interests and maximise the Vizhinjam Port’s potential as a world-class transhipment hub. On Wednesday, Satheesan revealed that the state wasn’t consulted about MSC buying a 49 per cent stake in Adani Vizhinjam Ports Private Limited (AVPPL).
The chief minister stated that Adani Ports can’t transfer its shares in the Vizhinjam International Seaport without prior state approval and that the government only learned about the proposed deal through media reports, as the company never sought its consent.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan expressed serious concern over the proposed stake transfer to MSC. He pointed out that, under the concession agreement, any transfer of more than 25% of shares requires strict prior approval from the state government.
In this case, he said, the decision to hand over shares worth Rs 13,000 crore to an international shipping giant, seemingly against the state’s interest, is puzzling. “Our goal was to develop Vizhinjam into a world-class, multi-operator port, but now there appears to be a covert effort to monopolise it for one specific shipping company,” he alleged.
He said that if this transfer of stakes goes through, both the multi-operator and multi-client systems in Vizhinjam will vanish. “If one company takes complete control of the port, our exporters will be forced to depend entirely on its ships and the prices it decides. Competition is the heart of any market, and that will be completely lost,” he added.
Vizhinjam Port, India’s first deep-water container transhipment hub, began operations in July 2024, with commercial activities kicking off in December that year. Since then, it has quickly become a major stop for the world’s largest container ships, welcoming over 1,000 vessels.
The first phase of the ₹8,860 crore deepwater multipurpose seaport project is being developed by Adani Ports and SEZ Private Ltd under a design, build, finance, operate, and transfer (DBFOT) model.
