MUMBAI: The Switzerland-based container terminal major, Terminal Investment Sarl (TIL), has agreed to invest Rs 20,000 crore in the upcoming Vadhavan Port northwest of Mumbai.
The project, being developed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), involves a total investment of Rs 76,200 crore.
On completion in two phases, the port will be one of the largest facilities in the country. The first phase of the project is scheduled to be completed in 2029, and the second in 2039, when it will be able to handle 23.2 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). The project was first planned 25 years ago but could not go ahead due to opposition from the locals and environmentalists ever since it was announced in 1997.
The JNPA has said TIL will invest around Rs 20,000 crore to develop the Vadhavan Port and the surrounding ecosystem, establishing it as a world-class facility. A memorandum of understanding was signed with TIL on Monday.
The facility, coming up at Dahanu in the Palghar district, is being developed by Vadhavan Port Project (VPPL), the special purpose vehicle in which JNPA holds 74 per cent and the Maharashtra Maritime Board owns the remaining 26 per cent.
The JNPA said the collaboration will help develop the Vadhavan Port into a world-class port in the future, which will go a long way in decongesting the JNPA.
TIL has a diverse portfolio of container terminals, strategically located at key ports on the major global shipping routes, numbering over 30 ports and providing access to key mature and developing markets.
"This partnership not only reflects the confidence of global investors in our maritime sector but also ensures the integration of cutting-edge technology, sustainable practices, and world-class infrastructure," said Unmesh Sharad Wagh, the JNPA chairman, and the chairman of VPPL, in a statement.
Together, the two partners aim to create a port ecosystem that sets new benchmarks in efficiency and innovation, he added.
Earlier this month, the VPPL had said it began the process of acquiring 574 hectares to connect the port with a highway and railhead, which will be respectively built by the National Highways Authority and the Railways.
Following the initial phase of commencement of the project on the ground, the land acquisition process will continue through correspondence and payment of compensation, Wagh had said then.
Of the 574 hectares, 50 per cent is forest land, while the remaining is owned by various private players. The NHAI has applied for forest clearance to build an 8-lane access-controlled highway to connect to the port.
The all-weather greenfield deep-draft port is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 76,220 crore and will be the 13th major port in the country, and the third in Maharashtra. It will be able to handle 23.2 million TEUs.
An arm of the dedicated freight corridor, the Mumbai-Vadodara Highway, and the under-construction Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway will be linked to the port. The road arm will be 32 km, and the rail will be 12 km long.
The offshore port project has three components: 15,363.5 hectares of waterfront, 1,488 hectares of intertidal zone that will be reclaimed, and 63.5 hectares of berth zone.
The port will have nine container terminals, each of them 1 km long, four liquid cargo berths, four multipurpose berths, a Ro-Ro berth, and a Coast Guard berth. These will be developed and operated on a public-private partnership basis.
The groundbreaking was done by Prime Minister Modi in late August 2024. It will be the country's first offshore port, in which the port will be built on an artificial island, and will be the third mother port in the country after Vallarpadam in Kochi and Vizhinjam International Seaport in Thiruvananthapuram.
The port will have an artificial harbour, and its berths, along with the inner navigable channel, will be surrounded by breakwaters, while the outer navigable channel will be the open sea.
The port will have a natural depth of 20 meters, making it possible to berth large ships, such as ultra-large container vessels of 233,000 DWT.