Reliance Industries signs MoU to invest Rs 645 cr in Vadhvan port project

The MoU was signed in the presence of the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal

Reliance Industries (RIL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vadhvan Port Project Limited (VPPL) for allocation of a liquid jetty along with 50 acres at Vadhavan port under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. The investment is estimated to be worth Rs 645 crore and is likely to commence by 2030.

 

Further, Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco), in an agreement with VPPL, has committed to provide funding of up to Rs 25,000 crore for the development of new ports and PPP projects.

 

The MoUs were signed in the presence of Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, on Tuesday.

 

In December 2024, Terminal Investment Ltd Sàrl (TIL), a Switzerland-based terminal operator, signed an MoU to invest Rs 20,000 crore for construction of the Vadhvan Port Project.

 

In the same month, VPPL awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract worth Rs 1,648 crore to ITD Cementation India Ltd to develop about 200 hectares in the near-shore area of Vadhvan Port.

 

According to Unmesh Wagh, chairperson of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and chairman and managing director of VPPL, the project worth Rs 76,220 crore will be completed within 18 months.

 

JNPA holds 74 per cent equity in the project, while the rest is held by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB).

 

Once complete, the port will become India’s 13th major and largest container port. The first phase of the project is estimated to be completed by 2029.

 

Moreover, the port will possess a cargo-handling capacity of 298 million metric tonnes (MMT) per annum, including around 23.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

 

The all-weather greenfield deep draft port is situated in the Palghar district of Maharashtra and is being developed under a landlord model with terminals built through PPP.

 

Besides, Sonowal also launched projects worth Rs 2,000 crore aimed at capacity expansion at the JNPA.

 

The port may see a throughput of 10 million TEUs by 2027, according to Sonowal. In 2024, the port handled the highest-ever container volume of 7.05 million TEUs in its history, with an annual growth of 11 per cent.

 

JNPA’s current cargo handling capacity stands at about 7.7 million TEUs. With the commissioning of the second phase of Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal (BMCT) in January 2025, the capacity of another 2.4 million TEUs has been added. The upgrade of Nhava Sheva Freeport Terminal (NSFT) in 2025 is also likely to add capacity to the port. With the growth projections at the current rate, the container handling capacity is estimated to reach 10.4 million TEUs.

 

Additionally, the JNPA Special Economic Zone (SEZ) spans an expansive 277.38 hectares of prime land. Out of the 163 hectares of leasable land in the region, 124 hectares have already been allotted to 54 units, with 10 units and one Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) already in operation.

 

The plot holders at JNPA SEZ include Welspun One, DP World, and Fine Organics. Existing investment by operational plots is Rs 623 crore, and proposed investment by plot holders is Rs 1,700 crore. Export-import (Exim) trade at the JNPA SEZ in FY24 was 8,051 TEUs and Rs 13,939 crore. It grew to 13,906 TEUs and Rs 7,314 crore in FY25, as of December 2024.