The Indian cabinet recently approved in principle setting up a major port at Vadhavan near Dahanu in Maharashtra at a cost of rs. 65,544.54 cr. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be formed with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) as the lead partner to implement the project. The equity participation with JNPT will be equal to or more than 50 per cent, according to an official statement.
The SPV, the statement said, will develop the port infrastructure, including reclamation, construction of breakwater, besides establishing connectivity to the hinterland, and all the business activities will be undertaken under public private partnership (PPP) by private developers. “With the development of Vadhavan port, India will break into the countries with top 10 container ports in the world,” it said.
Container traffic in the JNPT hinterland is expected to grow from 4.5 mn 20 foot equivalent units (MTEUs) currently to 10.1 MTEUs by 2022-25 when JNPT’s potential will be fully exhausted.