India, May 3 -- Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan asserted that the Vizhinjam International Seaport, commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, was a project formulated by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government that came to power in 1996 and termed it a result of the current Left government's 'willpower and determination.'

The port, the first semi-automated facility in the country and the first dedicated transshipment terminal, was dedicated to the nation five months after it was formally operationalised with the anchoring of major vessels.

"The project formulated by the then LDF government in 1996 is being realised here. While the project remained in limbo for a few years, the International Finance Corporation was...