Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, along with Ports, Shipping & Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Environment, Forest & Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav, held a high-level meeting on Tuesday to review and expedite the progress of the Vadhavan Port Project on the Maharashtra coast.
“We reviewed various aspects of the project to ensure its timely completion. The Vadhavan Port will play a key role in generating employment opportunities and expanding global maritime trade avenues,” Goyal said after the meeting.
The Union Cabinet had, in June last year, approved the setting up of a major port at Vadhavan near Dahanu, Maharashtra, at an estimated investment of ₹76,220 crore, including land acquisition costs.
The project is being executed by Vadhavan Port Project Limited (VPPL), a special purpose vehicle jointly formed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), holding 74 per cent and 26 per cent equity, respectively. Envisioned as an all-weather greenfield deep-draft major port, Vadhavan is expected to become one of the top ten ports in the world upon completion.
The port infrastructure will include nine container terminals of 1,000 metres each, four multipurpose berths (including a coastal berth), four liquid cargo berths, a Ro-Ro berth, and a Coast Guard berth. The development also involves 1,448 hectares of reclamation, 10.14 km of offshore breakwater, and extensive container and cargo storage areas.
Once operational, the port will have a cumulative capacity of 298 million metric tonnes (MMT) per annum, including 23.2 million TEUs of container handling capacity. Connectivity projects — road links by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and rail links to the Dedicated Freight Corridor by the Ministry of Railways — are integral to the development plan.
The port’s strategic location and capacity are expected to significantly bolster India’s EXIM trade through the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) and the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
Aligned with the PM Gati Shakti programme, the project will not only strengthen India’s maritime infrastructure but also generate around 10 lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities, giving a major boost to the local and national economy.
