The Ministry of Mines has officially granted a mining license to Vadhavan Port Project Ltd. (VPPL) for dredging sand from an offshore site to facilitate the development of the deep-draft greenfield Vadhavan Port in Palghar district. The license, issued under the Offshore Area Mineral (Development & Regulations) Act, 2006, is valid for 10 years.
The Vadhavan Port is being developed on 1,448 hectares of reclaimed land, which will be created using approximately 200 million cubic meters of sand. The sand will be dredged from an offshore site located 60 km from the port and 50 km off the coast of Daman. To support this, the Ministry of Mines had earlier reserved 10,277.1 hectares (102.77 sq. km) of offshore area for the project through a government notification on December 21, 2023.
A detailed study conducted by IIT Madras, including borehole sampling and testing, confirmed that the sand from the designated offshore site is suitable for reclamation. The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) had initially applied for the reservation of this sand in October 2023.
The Letter of Intent (LoI) for the mining license was handed over by Union Minister of Mines & Coal, G. Kishan Reddy, in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, to VPPL CMD and JNPA Chairman Unmesh Sharad Wagh. Also present at the event were Kanta Rao, IAS, Secretary of Mines, Government of India, and Maharashtra’s Minister of Mines, Shambhuraj Desai.
By sourcing sand from the sea instead of land, the project will save ₹6,000 crore, reducing the total cost from ₹12,000 crore to ₹6,000 crore. This includes ₹1,440 crore as royalty payable to the Government of India.
Additionally, offshore sand dredging has a negligible environmental impact compared to land-based mining, which would have required extensive excavation and displacement of natural resources. The project is expected to significantly contribute to infrastructure development while minimizing ecological disruption.
The Vadhavan Port is poised to become a key logistics hub, enhancing India's maritime trade capabilities and boosting economic growth in the region.
