DP World and a joint venture between Royal Boskalis B.V. and NMDC Dredging & Marine have submitted initial bids for the ₹22,323.47-crore dredging, reclamation and offshore protection bund package for the Vadhvan Port project in Maharashtra.
DP World has bid through its Indian unit, Hindustan Ports Pvt Ltd, while Boskalis has partnered with NMDC Dredging & Marine for the largest package of the ₹76,220-crore port project.
In an unusual development, Vadhvan Port Project Ltd extended the bid submission deadline by six days to 3 pm on September 23, around six hours after the earlier September 17 deadline had expired. JNPA Deputy Chairman Ravish Kumar Singh said the extension was intended to encourage wider participation.
The package will be implemented under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM), marking the first PPP-based implementation in India involving dredging, offshore reclamation and shore protection works for a new port. The payment structure provides for 45% of the project cost during construction and the remaining 55% through annuity payments over a 15-year concession period, including five years of construction and 10 years of O&M.
Vadhvan Port Project Ltd, a joint venture of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (74%) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (26%), is developing the port with a planned annual capacity of 298 million tonnes, including 23.2 million TEUs.
The mega project comprises three major packages. The ₹1,648-crore near-shore reclamation package was awarded to Cemindia Projects in December 2024, while Afcons Infrastructure secured the ₹5,301.25-crore contract for the 10.14-km breakwater, the longest planned for an Indian port.
The latest package involves reclamation of 1,207 hectares in two phases. The port is planned to include nine container terminals with 9,000 metres of quay length, more than 100 quay cranes, liquid cargo berths, Ro-Ro facilities, general and coastal cargo berths, a common railyard, tank farms and storage facilities.
Once the core port infrastructure is completed, cargo terminals will be developed under the PPP model.