Vadhvan port in Maharashtra to generate 12 lakh jobs for youth and women: Sonowal

The proposal Vadhvan Port in Palghar district of Maharashtra will generate 12 lakh jobs For the premises youth and women Apart from creating multiple facilities for the people of the area once it becomes operational, the Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the port project at the CIDCO land in Palghar, Sonowal also said that India has earned a name as a maritime nation in the world under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has taken a number of initiatives for the maritime sector in the last 10 years.

Modi laid the foundation stone of the mega project in the presence of Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan, state Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

The chief minister during his visit to the state also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 218 fisheries projects worth Rs 1,560 crore in Palghar, besides addressing the three-day Global Fintech Fest 2024 edition in Mumbai, which concluded here on Friday.

The maritime project, to be built as a deep-water, all-weather port located 150 km from Mumbai, and which received the nod from the Union Cabinet in June this year, will see an investment of Rs 76,200 crore, which includes development of basic infrastructure, terminals and other commercial infrastructure on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

The first phase of the port project is expected to be completed in 2029.

“This port project is a great gift from the Prime Minister to the people of Maharashtra and the country,” said Sonowal, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways. Sonowal claimed that the project will generate employment for local youth and women, besides providing benefits to the fishermen community and offering opportunities to future generations. Sonowal said that the upcoming facility will also play an important role in realising the mission of making India a self-reliant nation in the next 25 years. The minister said that with the establishment of the port, Palghar district will establish its identity in the world as an attractive destination, adding that “around 12 lakh people will get jobs here through this port project due to creation of multiple facilities like multi-centre developments, medical facilities, markets, among others.”

“This is a golden opportunity for us,” Sonowal said, adding that Vadhvan port will be among the top 10 ports in the world.

The port will be constructed by Vadhvan Port Project Limited (VPPL), an SPV formed by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), with 74 per cent and 26 per cent shareholdings, respectively.

The facility will comprise nine container terminals, each 1,000 metres long, four multi-purpose berths including the coastal berth, four liquid cargo berths, one Ro-Ro berth and one Coast Guard berth.

The project involves the reclamation of 1,448 hectares of sea surface and the construction of 10.14 km of marine breakwaters and container/cargo storage areas.

In addition, the project will create a cumulative capacity of 298 million metric tons (MMT) per year, including around 23.2 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent) of container handling capacity.

State-run REC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with JNPA last week to fund up to Rs 45,000 crore for various future projects, including the development of Vadhvan port, while another public sector undertaking, Power Finance Corp (PFC), has reportedly committed around Rs 21,000 crore to help build the project at Palghat.