DPR for Wadhwan port expected to be finalised by March

Mumbai, Aug 12: The detailed project report (DPR) for the much-awaited major port of Wadhwan is expected to be completed and final is ed before March 2017. Neeraj Bansal, deputy chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust( J NP T ), said on Friday that certain issues such as environmental clearances are being looked at afresh in the DPR with the possibility of reclaiming land from the sea in order to minimise land acquisition.

Bansal said that the new-age port will be built to accommodate large-sized foreign vessels that require up to 60-80 metres of draft. “We need a port which has a natural draft of at least over 16 metres and Wadhwan has a 20metre draft,” he said.

The proposed port will have a capacity of 40-60 million tonnes and Bansal said it could play a critical role in coastal shipping and in environmentally-friendly handling of cargo.

In 1998, the Maharashtra gover nment had given a mandate to erstwhile Peninsular and Oriental Australia Ports Pvt Ltd (now Dubai Ports World) to develop Wadhwan but this could not go ahead due to protests over its environmental impact. Reviving the project, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) and JNPT for developing the port in March 2015.

Wadhwan port is intended to serve as a satellite port to JNPT.