Over 20 large companies,  including Reliance, Essar, Adani, Mercator, Concor, the Netherlands' Sirus Vancovar Group, are planning to invest Rs.18,000 crore in the Gujarat's port sector.

Around 24 MoUs will be signed for various port projects, with costs ranging from Rs.10 crore to Rs.3,500 crore during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit to be held later in January 2007.

Reliance Industries has emerged as the largest investor in the sector during the summit. RIL is planning to invest Rs.3,500 crore for constructing a captive jetty at Sikka and expanding their single buoy mooring (SBM) facility. Reliance wants to develop a port facility at Sikka for its Jamnagar refinery.

Essar, too, is going sign a pact for expanding its captive jetty at Hazira for Rs.500 crore. Among other companies which are going to sign MoUs are Mercator Mech Marine for developing Vansi Borsi (one of the 10 greenfield port sites identified by GMB) for Rs.500 crore. Also, Mercator Shipping Lines Group will ink an MoU worth Rs.3,000 crore for constructing shipbuilding yards at various locations.

Vadodara's Sandesara group will invest Rs.1,500 crore to develop Dahej port. The group is already in talks with Virginia Port Authority for the project.

The Rs.400-crore Porbander port development project will be carried out by Container Corporation of India (Concor). Concor is also inking a pact with the Gujarat government for developing the Okha port jointly with the Gujarat Maritime Board at a project cost of Rs.250 crore. The Rs.200-crore Bhavnagar port development project will be carried out by Gujarat Petroleum Corporation.

In Kutch, as many as four cement manufacturing companies are investing close to Rs.600 crore to develop captive jetties for their existing as well as upcoming plants. The list includes Sanghi Industries, which is expanding its capacity as well as players like Gujarat Anjan Cement (JP Group), Deepak Cements, and ABG Cement, which are putting up cement plants in Kutch.