Vadhavan to be developed as India’s 13th major port
01 Jan 2022
Government has accorded in-principle approval for development of a major port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra at a total cost of Rs65,544.54 crore with the government holding 51 per cent stake in the project.
The port will be developed by incorporating a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with Jawaharlal Nehru Port as lead partner.
The SPV will develop the port infrastructure, including reclamation, construction of breakwater, besides establishing connectivity to the hinterland. All the business activities would be undertaken under private-public partnership model.
The union cabinet had, in February last year, approved the setting up of the country’s 13th major port at Vadhavan at a total cost of Rs65,544.54 crore with the government holding 51 per cent stake in the project..
Vadhavan Port will be developed without any budgetary support from Government of India. It will be developed on “landlord model” (where infrastructure is leased to private firms or industries and chemical plants).
The total estimated project cost, including GST, preliminary pre-operative expenses, contingencies, working capital and interest during construction (IDC) works out to be Rs65,544.54 crore. Internal rate of return (IRR) is expected to be 16.90 per cent approximately.
Union minister for ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal gave this information in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Non-major ports are under the jurisdiction of respective state governments/ maritime boards.
Currently, India has 12 major ports – Deendayal, Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar, V O Chidambaranar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia).
The reason behind setting up another major port on the west coast is because of the exhaustion of container cargo capacity of the JNPT, which is 0 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent unit). Total container capacity on the west coast is 18 million TEUs while the total requirement will increase to 25 million TEUs in 2030.
Also, there is a felt need for a deep draft port to accommodate larger container ships. The Vadhavan port has a natural draft of about 20 metres close to the shore, making it possible for it to handle bigger vessels. Development of this port will enable cargo container vessels of 16,000-25,000 TEUs capacity.
With the development of the Vadhavan port, India will break into the countries with top 10 container ports in the world.
The proposed mega port at Vadhavan in the Palghar district of coastal Konkan region has been a big flashpoint between BJP-led NDA government at the centre and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government.