The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved setting up a ₹76,220-crore greenfield port in Vadhavan, a village in the Palghar district of Maharashtra. The project will be constructed by Vadhavan Port Project Limited (VPPL), a special purpose vehicle formed by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) with a shareholding of 74% and 26%, respectively.

The Vadhavan port will be developed as an all-weather greenfield deep draft major port. On completion, it will be one of the top 10 ports in the world.

The project, aligned with the objectives of PM Gati Shakti programme, is expected to add to further economic activity and also have the potential for direct and indirect employment opportunities for around 10 lakh individuals.

The total project cost of ₹76,220 crore includes the development of core infrastructure, terminals and other commercial infrastructure in public-private partnerships (PPP) mode. The Cabinet also approved establishing the road connectivity between the port and National Highways by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and rail linkage to the existing rail network and the upcoming Dedicated Rail Freight Corridor by the Ministry of Railways.

The port will comprise nine container terminals, each 1,000 meters long, four multipurpose berths, including the coastal berth, four liquid cargo berths, a roll-on roll-off 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 kilometres of offshore breakwater and container storage areas.

The project is expected to 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.

The capacities created will also aid export-import trade flow through IMEEC (India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor) and INSTC (International North South Transportation Corridor). The world-class maritime terminal facilities promote public-private partnerships (PPP) and leverage efficiencies and modern technologies to create a state-of-the-art terminals capable of handling mainline mega vessels plying on international shipping lines between the Far East, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.

The Union Cabinet also approved the proposal of Airports Authority of India (AAI) for development of Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi including construction of new terminal building, apron extension, and runway extension among others. The estimated financial outgo will be ₹2,869.65 crore for enhancing the passenger handling capacity of the airport to 9.9 million passengers per annum (MPPA) from the existing 3.9 MPPA. The new terminal building, with an area of 75,000 sqm is designed for a capacity of 6 MPPA and for handling 5,000 Peak Hour Passengers (PHP). Varanasi airport will be developed as a green airport with the primary objective of ensuring environmental sustainability through energy optimisation, waste recycling, carbon footprint reduction, solar energy utilisation, and incorporation of natural daylighting.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port

Cabinet approves ₹76,200-crore greenfield port in Maharashtra's Palghar