Cabinet okays ₹76,200-cr port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra, wind projects off Gujarat & TN: Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet on June 19 approved the construction of a major port at Vadhavan near Dahanu in Maharashtra's Palghar district at a cost of ₹76,200 crore.

The all-weather greenfield deep draft port will be set up 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 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively, the government said.

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The project includes the development of core infrastructure, terminals and other commercial infrastructure in public-private partnerships (PPP) mode.

Addressing the media, Information & Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, as quoted by ANI, “It will be an integral part of the IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe Corridor). It will be constructed by the joint venture of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority and Maharashtra Maritime Board. It will be one of the top 10 ports in the world.”

The Cabinet also okayed the road connectivity between the port and national highways by the 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.

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The Dahanu port will comprise nine container terminals, each 1000 metres long, four multipurpose berths, including the coastal berth, four liquid cargo berths, a Ro-Ro berth, and a Coast Guard berth.

The government will reclaim 1,448 hectares of sea area and construct 10.14 km of offshore breakwater and container or cargo storage areas. This 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.

On completion, the government claims that Vadhavan Port will be one of the top 10 ports in the world. The government expects the port to have the potential for direct and indirect employment opportunities for around 10 lakh people.

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Other announcements:

The cabinet also approved India's first offshore wind energy project off the coast of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. 

"The Union Cabinet has taken a landmark decision by approving India's first offshore wind energy project. These will be 1GW offshore wind projects, 500 MW each (off the coast of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu). This is a big opportunity for India," Vaishnaw said. 

The Cabinet sanctioned the expansion of Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi at a cost of ₹2,870 crore. The proposal includes extending the runway and building a new terminal building. Vaishnaw said the airport will be made a green one with minimum energy consumption. 

The Cabinet also gave the green signal to a new central scheme to enhance forensic infrastructure in the country by establishing off-campus labs of National Forensic Sciences University in 28 states and all UTs.