Vadhavan Port Project Ltd. (VPPL) is progressing with the development of the deep draft greenfield Vadhavan Port Project in Palghar District. The project involves the creation of 1448 hectares of reclaimed land, utilizing 200 million cubic meters of sand dredged from an offshore location 60 km away. Following a comprehensive study by IIT Madras, the Ministry of Mines reserved 10,277 hectares of offshore area for sand extraction. Yesterday, the Ministry of Mines officially granted a Mining License for a 10-year period under the Offshore Area Mineral (Development & Regulations) Act 2006.
The Letter of Intent (LOI) was handed over by Union Minister of Mines & Coal, G Kishan Reddy, in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, CMD VPPL, Chairman JNPA Unmesh Sharad Wagh, IRS, Secretary Mines V Kantha Rao, IAS, and Maharashtra Minister of Mines Shambhuraj Desai. The project, estimated to cost ₹12,000 crore, includes ₹1,440 crore as royalty to the Government of India. By sourcing sand from the sea, ₹6,000 crore in costs have been saved, while minimizing environmental impact compared to land-based mining operations.
