Reliance Industries (RIL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vadhvan Port Project Limited (VPPL) for the allocation of a liquid jetty and 50 acres at Vadhavan Port under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. The investment is predicted to be about Rs 645 crore and is expected to begin by 2030.
Additionally, the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) has committed to investing up to Rs 25,000 crore in PPP projects and the construction of new ports as part of a deal with VPPL.
The MoUs were signed in front of Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal.
The Swiss terminal operator Terminal Investment Ltd Sàrl (TIL) agreed to invest Rs 20,000 crore in the Vadhvan Port Project in December 2024.
ITD Cementation India Ltd was awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract worth Rs 1,648 crore by VPPL that same month to develop about 200 hectares of the near-shore area of Vadhvan Port.
The Rs 76,220 crore project would be completed in 18 months, according to Unmesh Wagh, chairman and managing director of VPPL and head of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA).
The Maharashtra Maritime Board owns the remaining portion of the project, while the JNPA owns 74%.
When finished, the port will rank as the thirteenth largest and most significant container port in India. The project's initial phase is anticipated to be completed in 2029.
Sonowal also unveiled projects of Rs 2,000 crore to expand JNPA capacity. Sonowal predicts that the port will handle 10 million TEUs by 2027. In 2024, the port handled the biggest container tonnage in its history, 7.05 million TEUs, with an annual growth rate of 11%.
JNPA's current cargo handling capacity is at 7.7 million TEUs. The second phase of the Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal (BMCT) will be commissioned in January 2025, adding 2.4 million TEUs to the capacity. The renovation of the Nhava Sheva Freeport Terminal (NSFT) in 2025 is also expected to increase port capacity. With current expansion predictions, container handling capacity is expected to reach 10.4 million TEUs.
Furthermore, the JNPA Special Economic Zone (SEZ) covers a massive 277.38 hectares of valuable land. Of the 163 hectares of leasable land in the region, 124 hectares have already been granted to 54 units, with 10 units and one Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) being operational.
Plot holders at JNPA SEZ include Welspun One, DP World, and Fine Organics. The current investment by operational plots is Rs 623 crore, while the anticipated investment by plot holders is Rs 1,700 crore. The JNPA SEZ's export-import (Exim) trade in FY24 was 8,051 TEUs and Rs 13,939 crore. It reached 13,906 TEUs and Rs 7,314 crore in FY25, as of December 2024.
