Vadhvan Port Project Ltd has called bids for near shore reclamation and shore protection works worth Rs 17 billion on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode in what will be the first step towards constructing a new deep water major port at Vadhvan near Dahanu in Maharashtra’s Palghar district. “Out of this, we will create nearly 200 hectares of land close to the shore from where we can launch our offshore works like breakwater and reclamation. All other activities will start from here. It will act as a landing point for future works and subsequently when all works are completed offshore, this will be used as a yard for storage of containers, building tank farms and laying railway lines etc,” Unmesh Wagh, Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru port Authority, told ET Infra. Vadhvan Port Project Ltd is a joint venture formed between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (74 percent stake) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (26 percent equity), to implement the Vadhvan Port. The basic infrastructure for the new deep-water port such as dredging, reclamation, shore protection works, breakwater, approach trestle, rail and road connectivity, land acquisition and other common utilities, entails an investment of Rs 389.76 billion. Of this, dredging, offshore reclamation and shore protection works will be undertaken on public-private-partnership (PPP)/Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) estimated worth Rs 20,647 crore. The rest of the core infrastructure will be created through EPC mode. Besides, the remaining project cost of Rs 37,244 crore will be invested by the private operators of container terminals, multipurpose berths, coastal cargo berths, RO-RO and liquid berths selected by Vadhvan Port Project Ltd. Vadhvan Port will be designed to handle 298 million tonnes (mt) of cargo, including 23.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU’s).