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The Government of India is preparing a plan to develop new ports at Dahanu, Vijaydurg and Revas in Maharashtra, in association with the state government and the private sector.
The total investment is estimated to be at least Rs 20,000 crore and each port is expected to handle 40 million tonnes of cargo annually.
Nitin Gadkari, the Union minister in charge of ports, told Business Standard: ''The development of these will be under the Centre's integrated ports development plan, wherein ports, roads and railway network will be simultaneously developed. The ministry has completed the initial study on these ports and held talks with the Maharashtra government for its involvement.''
Gadkari said the aim was to decongest Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNP, at Navi Mumbai) and Mumbai Port.
Revas was to be earlier developed by Reliance Industries but this could not proceed due to problems on dredging and mangroves.
Gadkari said he hoped the proposed Dedicated Freight Corridor from JNP to Delhi, eight-laning of the Mumbai-Pune Highway and its connectivity with the soon to be widened Mumbai-Goa highway would help JNP move its container traffic more efficiently.
Vishal Kalantri, director, Dighi Port Ltd, said he welcomed Gadkari's initiative to develop hub ports to decongest JNP and move cargo from Mumbai Port. ''However, the focus needs to be on providing the necessary support to the existing ports in the form of road and railway infrastructure to integrate them with the hinterland. We believe this will be a more prudent way to serve the needs of trade and the economy.''
A senior official of a private equity entity, who did not want to be identified, said the key issues involved in the development of the proposed ports in Maharashtra and elsewhere included the dredging costs, cargo flows and whether or not the hinterland supported the cargo projections. ''These issues are critical for the viability,'' he observed.
Gadkari also said his ministry had proposed inland feeder ports (better known as dry ports, directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as a centre for trans-shipment of sea cargo to inland destinations) at Aurangabad and Wardha for export-import trade.
