Vadhavan Port: India's first mega port set to boost sea-based trade

The Vadhavan port, which the Cabinet cleared this week, will be India's first to begin life as a mega port. What does that mean for the country's share of sea-based trade?

The Indian shoreline, thanks to a geographical quirk, has a long continental shelf. This allows for sprawling and safe beaches, where the water recedes for miles and advances picturesquely.

But there is another side to beauty.

The sprawling beaches make it impossible for vessels like large oil tankers and container ships to come near India’s coasts, compelling most of them to offload their cargo at Colombo. In rare cases, they do a mid-sea transfer of goods nearer an Indian port.

The Rs 76,220 crore Vadhavan project, cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday, could change this —