Spanning an area of 100 hectares, the ecosystem will be developed on the coast adjoining Dandi village in Surat district. The project will be executed by the group through Gujarat Ecology Commission (GEC), Government of Gujarat.
Initially, as part of the project, around 2,500 mangrove saplings were planted on the coast on June 5, 2008. However, the entire proposed afforestation project will involve creation of a nursery that will nurture the 2,50,000 saplings needed to completely cover the 100 hectares, a company release stated.
On its part, once the saplings are planted in a designated area after three months, GEC will maintain the plantation over three years.
A diversified business corporation, Essar Group has several manufacturing facilities at Hazira, near Surat, including a steel plant and a power plant.