The Maharashtra government is looking at developing two new deep water greenfield
ports in the Konkan region. Greenfield projects are built from scratch and not
constrained by prior work; they require no reconstruction or demolition of
existing structures.
Through its maritime organisation, the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB),
the state government would initiate a study to identify coastal areas near Vijaydurg and Ganeshgule,
two sleepy coastal towns in the Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri districts,
respectively.
The deep water greenfield port is aimed at
facilitating and spurring economic growth and development of these two regions
with logistics facilities and freight rail connectivity. The state also wants
to create employment opportunities in the sectors outside agriculture and
fishing.
For now, a consultant will be appointed to study feasibility
and other details. “The
consultant will shortlist a couple of locations and determine technical
feasibility, financial viability, project implementation model, revenue model,
and financial appraising,” the source said.
Through the study, it will also be determined which
kind of cargo or goods can be exported and imported from each of the ports,
what will be their annual volumes, any possible threats to the projects and its
mitigation measures. Moreover, road and rail connectivity required to facilitate
trade flow would also be analysed and suggested.
At present, the 720km long state coastline has two
major ports – Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port. There are 48 minor ports
such as Dighi, Dabhol, Tarapur, Dahanu, Belapur, Trombay, Kelshi, Bankot,
Revdanda, Ratnagiri, Jaigad, to name a few.
It will take at least six months for the in-depth
study and submit the report possibly by 2023-end. The decision would be taken
based on the recommendations made.
In the past, new projects proposed in the Konkan
region have faced stiff opposition politically as well as from the locals; for
instance, Nanar Oil Refinery and Jaitapur nuclear power plant. Towards north of
Mumbai, another major port project planned at Vadhavan near Dahanu by the
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority has also been facing local resistance.