The government is set to launch two mega projects entailing more than Rs 83,000 crore investment in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra soon to boost the port and shipping sector.

While the project in Tamil Nadu will add more capacity to the Chidambaranar port, the Vadhavan port in Maharashtra will be the first (central government) port to be built after two decades. PM Modi is scheduled to launch the 7,056 crore Outer Harbour project of Chidambaranar Port on 28 February, 2024.

The Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister approved the project to develop four berths, adding four million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) capacity to the port and creating the capability to service mega container vessels. In addition, it is likely to grant approval for the Rs 76,000 crore Vadhavan Port project in the next two weeks. These project are essential to cater to the growing demand for gateway and transhipment cargo.

The mega port, which will come up in Palghar district, will have nine container terminals with 18 berths and a combined container handling capacity of 23.5 million TEUs. The port will be developed in two phases by 2030. The total cargo traffic of the port is expected to be over 300 million tpa.

The port has a natural draft (depth) of about 20 mtrs. close to the shore, which will be enough for handling bigger container vessels of 16,000-25,000 TEUs capacity, giving advantages of economies of scale and reducing logistics costs.