India's Major Port: PM Modi To Break Ground For Vadhavan Mega-Port

India’s major port project at Vadhavan near Dahanu in Maharastra becomes a reality. On June 19, the Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi approved setting up a major all-weather Greenfield deep draft port at Vadhavan, in a bid to bolster India’s maritime infrastructure.

Vadhavan Port Project Limited (VPPL), an SPV formed by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) with a shareholding of 74% and 26%, will jointly develop the gigantic port in Vadhavan, Palghar District, Maharashtra, with a total cost including the land acquisition component of Rs. 76,220 crore.

This will include development of core infrastructure, terminals and other commercial infrastructure in public-private partnerships mode.

The cabinet also approved establishing the road connectivity between the port and national highways by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and rail linkage to the existing rail network and the upcoming dedicated rail freight corridor by Ministry of Railways.

The Port will comprise nine container terminals, each 1000 meters long, four multipurpose berths, including the coastal berth, four liquid cargo berths, a Ro-Ro berth, and a Coast Guard berth.

The project involves the reclamation of 1,448 hectares of area in the sea and the construction of 10.14 km of offshore breakwater and container/cargo storage areas.

The project will create a cumulative capacity of 298 million metric tons (MMT) per annum, including around 23.2 million TEUs of container handling capacity.

Meanwhile, India announced the launch of GTTP (Green tug transition program) which aims at phasing out conventional fuel-based harbour tugs to green tugs powered by alternate fuel.

As it is reported, ASTDS-GTTP based tugs shall be built in Indian shipyard.