India’s Vadhvan Mega Port is approved for construction

Approval has now been given for the new greenfield mega port at Vadhvan, Maharashtra. It will be India’s biggest port project and is set to become among the top 10 container ports in the world – and as a green, and smart port, it will also be a one-of-a-kind installation for India. 

The port is also designed to use nature-based solutions to protect against the impacts of climate change, with proposed land reclamation and shore protection works making the mega port more resilient to flooding and storms. 

It will be developed offshore with a comprehensive design and delivery schedule to promote successful progress.

Construction will progress through six zones:

Zone 0: Land acquisition and construction of road and rail
Zone 1: Nearshore reclamation and shore protection
Zone 2: Offshore Breakwater
Zone 3: Leveling in channels
Zone 4: Approach trestle connecting the liquid berths and the offshore breakwater
Zone 5: Offshore reclamation and shore protection 
Zone 6: Approach trestle connecting the nearshore and offshore reclamation areas

We’re proud of the role we played in the development of this world class mega port: providing consultancy services for detailed design and engineering. We're now eagerly anticipating the start of construction. We’re reflecting on the journey so far.

As container trade grows, India needed to develop port facilities capable of handling demand

The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) is the biggest container handling port in India and is responsible for roughly half of the total container cargo volume across the major ports of the country. But the demand for container handling is only increasing, and JNPA needed to expand its facilities. 

Spatial restrictions meant that JNPA could not expand its current port facility enough to meet the rise in demand. The trust needed to create a new port at a site that could handle growing capacity and accommodate future deep draft ships.

Vadhvan Port was selected to be developed as a major port for JNPA due to its depth and space potential. So, plans for a new Greenfield world-class mega port with an all-weather deep draft facility were formed.

Expert consultancy helped develop an ambitious and actionable plan

Royal HaskoningDHV was assigned the task of planning and developing the port master plan, and creating the detailed design including tender documents for the new port.

We started with a detailed assessment – reviewing existing technical studies and surveys and compiling a detailed project report. For this, we assessed the technical and financial viability of the development of the greenfield port at Vadhvan and its necessary rail and road connections.

We then carried out detailed design and engineering of various port developments and structures, including:

• An offshore breakwater of over 10 km
• Berth structures for container, multipurpose, roll-on/roll-off (RoRo), bulk liquid, and tug berths
• Approach trestles 
• Land reclamation to create shore protections
• Cargo handling equipment
• Buildings and gate complex
• Mechanical, electrical, and utilities works
• Road and Rail connectivity 

With a complete detailed design, we also supported in project structuring; preparing the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) and Public Private Partnerships (PPP) tender documents; and creating a proposed delivery schedule.

Support for decades of maritime trade in India

As the project moves onto its next stage, we’re excited to keep following Vadhvan Port’s progress. Once complete, the mega port is expected to have a capacity of 24.5 Million TEUs, and help India meet growing trade demand for decades to come.