Vadhavan port gets MCZMA clearance

The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority has given clearance to the Vadhavan port in Palghar district after addressing previous queries.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) on Monday gave clearance to the Vadhavan port in Palghar district after the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) addressed all queries posed at its previous meeting. The development was confirmed by Unmesh Wagh, acting chairperson of JNPA, which is developing the port in collaboration with the Maharashtra Maritime Board.

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The MCZMA had deferred clearance to the port at its December 15, 2023, meeting, raising several queries. It had asked the developer for details about the impact of large-scale reclamation on marine life, source of material to be used for reclamation, mode of transportation for breakwater construction, and impact of the port on the Tarapur Atomic Power Station located nearby. Questions were also raised over the environment impact assessment report and the public hearing.

MCZMA had forwarded representations received from Palghar residents to the developer during the December meeting, asking for its response. The developer was also asked to submit all studies carried out for the project, so they could be studied by experts.

The JNPA provided all details during the Monday meeting, after which the port was granted clearance. One final clearance is awaited from union ministry of environment, forest and climate change, but that is just a formality, said MCZMA sources.

JNPA and the Maharashtra Maritime Board have an equity share of 74% and 26% respectively in the special purpose vehicle M/s Vadhavan Port Project Limited. The union government had given in-principal approval to Vadhavan as a major port on February 13, 2020. It has a natural draft of 20 metres and the potential to be among the top 10 container ports in the world.

The port will add container capacity of 15 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent, roughly the size of a container) in the first phase, which will increase to 23.2 million TEUs in the second phase. Around 1,448 hectares of land will be reclaimed in the intertidal/ offshore area, including for shore protection, while 571 hectares will be used for rail and road connectivity, port cargo handling equipment and utilities.