Chief Minister calls for exploring Willingdon Island’s potential as a global tourism hub

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday (August 23, 2025) called for exploring the possibilities of transforming Willingdon Island here, one of the largest man-made islands in the country, into a global hub of tourism and economic development.

He urged the Cochin Port Authority (CPA) to take the initiative to examine development possibilities and formulate appropriate projects, as the island, created in 1928, gears up for its centenary celebrations. Mr. Vijayan was speaking after releasing the book Notes from Willingdon Island by N. Ramachandran, a retired Indian Police Service officer and former Chairman of the CPA.

Maintaining that the scope for Kerala’s economic diversification and development is abundant, the Chief Minister highlighted the possibility of redeveloping the island, as port activities had been shifted to the Vallarpadam and Puthuvype terminals. “Large swathes of land on Willingdon Island are available for redevelopment. Such redevelopment will pave the way for new public spaces for the tourism sector, including cruise tourism, as well as trade and commerce summits, thereby creating new job opportunities,” he added.

Mr. Vijayan said that if concepts and sectors like the blue economy, blue tourism, cruise shipping, and shipbuilding were developed with political will and farsightedness, they could bring about drastic changes in the State’s economic map.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, Konark Publishers managing director K.P.R. Nair, and Mr. Ramachandran spoke.