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Adani Ports expects to complete the first of four phases of a key transshipment container port in southern India this year, it said on Friday, firming the timeline for a project already delayed by six years due to protests by locals.

The Vizhinjam deep-sea port at the southern tip of the country is of strategic importance due to its proximity to international shipping routes and will help India rival Dubai, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

Adani Ports, a part of billionaire Gautam Adani's ports-to-power conglomerate, aimed to start operations at the port in the state of Kerala in 2018 but faced delays due to land acquisition issues as locals protested the port led to coastal erosion, which even led to clashes with the police in 2022.

With those issues sorted, the first phase of the Vizhinjam port will be completed by December and the port will be fully ready by 2028-29, said Karan Adani, the company's managing director and son of Gautam Adani.

The MD reaffirmed a total investment of 200 billion rupees ($2.39 billion) in the port by the company and the Kerala state.

Adani Ports will invest 100 billion rupees ($1.2 billion) in the second phase of the project, Bloomberg News reported earlier in the day. The company did not respond to a Reuters' request for comment on the specific investment.

The port, which takes the company's total count to 13 ports and terminals in the country, received its first large cargo ship from Maersk on Friday.

Adani Ports will start work on the remaining phases as early as October once environmental clearance and other regulatory approvals are in place, Karan Adani said.