Construction approved for new port in Maharashtra, India

The Indian Union Council of Ministers chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi have approved construction of a new port at Vadhavan near Dahanu in Maharashtra state. The project will be undertaken by Vadhavan Port Project (VPPL), a special purpose vehicle formed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) with a shareholding of 74 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively.

The Vadhavan Port will be developed as an all-weather Greenfield deep-draught major port in Vadhavan in Maharashtra's Palghar District. The total project cost, including the land acquisition component, is INR762.2 billion (US$9.13 billion).

The port will comprise nine container terminals, four multi-purpose berths, four liquid cargo berths, a Ro-Ro berth, and a coast guard berth. The project will involve the reclamation of 1,448 hectares of area in the sea and the construction of 10.14 kilometres of offshore breakwater and container/cargo storage areas. The project will create a cumulative capacity of 298 million tonnes per annum, including around 23.2 million TEUs of container handling capacity.