Indian government has green-lighted a mega container port, to be constructed at a cost of INR655.45bn ($9.2bn) at Vadhavan, around 160 km north-west of Mumbai.
The proposal to create the huge port – on a ‘landlord model’ – was cleared at a Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The proposed port is set to catapult India among countries boasting the top 10 container ports in the world. At the moment, the largest container port in India is Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), which sits in the 28th position among the world’s top container ports, with annual throughput of 5.1m teu.
A Special Purpose Vehicle will be formed with Mumbai’s JNPT as the lead partner, with equity participation of at least 50 per cent to execute the Wadhavan Port project.
The SPV will develop the port infrastructure including reclamation, construction of breakwater, besides establishing connectivity to the hinterland. All the business activities would be undertaken under PPP mode by private developers.