“Vadhvan Port to see first vessel berthing by Dec 2029”: JNPA chairman

The union cabinet chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (June 19, 2024) has approved setting up a major port at Vadhavan near Dahanu in Palghar District, Maharashtra.

The all-weather Greenfield deep draft major port will be constructed by the Vadhavan Port Project (VPPL), an SPV formed by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) with a shareholding of 74 and 26 percent respectively. The total project cost, including the land acquisition component is ₹76,220 crore. This will include the development of core infrastructure, terminals and other commercial infrastructure in public-private partnerships (PPP) mode.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority chairman Unmesh Sharad Wagh, in a separate press meet on Thursday (June 20, 2024) informed that the JNPA Vadhvan Port will have its first of two phases completed in 2029 and see the first vessel berthing by December 2029.

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 (Twenty-foot equivalents) of container handling capacity.

Talking about the importance of the port, Wagh pointed out that 65 percent of India’s EXIM cargo moves through Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Mundra Port and both these ports are operating at their 80 percent capacity.

JNPA has an annual capacity of 7.7 million TEUs while it is operating at 6.5 million TEUs.

“Operating at 80 percent capacity is already too much which means we are handling more than we could. Next year JNPA will add 2.5 million TEUs and our capacity will be 10.2 million TEUs,” he said.

However, even with the additional capacity, he pointed out that both JNPA and Mundra Port will be full and Vadhvan is the perfect spot to build the new port.

“The Industrial clusters in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi NCR, Eastern UP and Madhya Pradesh won't be able to go to the eastern ports nor we can build a port south of Mumbai due to the Western Ghats,” he added.

The port will offer 10 million TEUs capacity once phase one with four container terminals is completed in 2029. And with phase two it will have an annual capacity of 24 million TUEs.

“Once this is completed, we don't require another port in the western side of India for the next 50 years.”

The port will facilitate the calling of mega-size container vessels capable of carrying 24,000 TEUs, which is not available at JNPA or Mundra ports.

He also said, "The strategic placement of the Vadhvan port will facilitate the call of container traffic. The port will bridge international and Indian coasts which will accelerate the economies of scale and mitigate the logistics cost. Moreover, the port will also address the EXIM needs of industries situated in Vapi, Indore, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The vision under Amrit Kaal 2047 to develop a mega Port with 300MTPA will be fulfilled by Vadhvan Port.”

The cabinet also approved establishing road connectivity between the port and National Highways and rail linkage to the existing rail network and the upcoming Dedicated Rail Freight Corridor.

The capacities created will also aid EXIM trade flow through IMEEC (India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor) and INSTC (International North South Transportation Corridor).

The project has the potential for direct and indirect employment opportunities for around 12 lakh individuals.