Gujarat Plans Six New Greenfield Ports; ₹12,320-Crore Investment Expected

Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government has initiated the process of developing six new cargo ports across the state, reviving plans for greenfield port development after a long gap. The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) has invited global Expressions of Interest (EoIs) from private developers to develop, operate and maintain the proposed ports under the Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model.

The six proposed ports are planned at:

• Nana Lioni village in Mandvi taluka, Kutch
• Bhogat village in Kalyanpur taluka, Devbhumi Dwarka
• Vadodara Jhala village in Kalyanpur taluka, Gir Somnath
• Vadhera village in Jafrabad taluka, Amreli
• Lakhanka village near Ghogha, Bhavnagar
• Damka village in Choryasi taluka, Surat

According to pre-feasibility reports prepared by IIT Kharagpur, the proposed ports are expected to attract investments of around ₹12,320 crore and create a combined cargo-handling capacity of approximately 124 million metric tonnes (MMT).

As per the EoI document, the state government plans to shortlist private developers after receiving bids by the end of September. The selected developers will be responsible for developing, operating and maintaining the ports under the BOOT model.

To qualify, interested companies must have a minimum net worth of ₹500 crore and an average annual turnover of at least ₹1,000 crore during the past three financial years. Successful bidders will be eligible for various incentives from the Gujarat government, with concession periods ranging from 30 to 50 years.

The initiative marks a renewed push to expand Gujarat’s maritime infrastructure after several earlier attempts to develop new cargo ports failed to materialise. Years ago, the state had proposed greenfield ports at multiple locations, including Nargol, and had even issued work orders. However, barring a few LNG terminal projects, most of those port development plans failed to take off.

With fresh interest being sought from global investors, the success of this latest initiative will depend on the response from private developers and the government’s ability to attract long-term investment into the state’s port sector. DeshGujarat