M'rashtra gets Rs. 2,500-cr port project

According to official sources, Maharashtra is set to get its third large-port soon, with the central government giving its nod for development of a new shipping terminal near Dahanu, about 150 km from Mumbai, at an investment of Rs. 2,500cr. The new port, to be named Vadhavan Port, will be a joint venture between the government-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) and is expected to be operational by 2021-22. Under the initiative of the current government, the Sagar port in West Bengal was the first one to be launched in which the Kolkata Port and the West Bengal Maritime Board have joined hands. Vadhavan Port is the second such initiative. A deeper draft would allow larger bulk carriers to come closer to the port compared to those of JNPT and Mumbai ports. The current trend in the shipping industry is towards bigger vessels that can handle bulk cargo as they have advantages of volumes, which lead to economies of scale, Deputy Chairman, JNPT, Neeraj Bansal said.