Thiruvananthapuram | The Adani Ports will be carrying out the second phase development of the Vizhinjam seaport at an estimated cost of around Rs 16,000 crore, and an announcement in this regard is expected during the inaugural ceremony on Saturday, sources said.

The second phase of development will be inaugurated on Saturday evening by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) expects the second phase of development to make Vizhinjam the largest transhipment hub in the Indian sub-continent, the sources said.

It will add 4.1 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) to the existing capacity of the port, they said.

The sources further said that while Vizhinjam was currently the most advanced and fully automated transhipment hub in India, the phase 2 development will be undertaken with updated automation in technologies and equipment.

The phase 2 equipment will include 21 automated ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, 45 automated Cantilever Rail-Mounted Gantry (CMRG) cranes, a rail handling yard and a state-of-the-art electrical and automation systems, they said.

The other features of phase 2 include berth expansion, dredging and reclamation to create additional operational capacity and construction of the deepest breakwater in India with a stretch of 920 meters at a depth of 21 meters.

Besides these, deployment of green equipment, like electric vehicle charging stations, development of critical facilities such as electrical substation, sewage treatment plant and International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) fencing will also be part of phase 2, the sources said.