Palghar, Aug 13 (PTI) A 32-km long road connecting the proposed Vadhvan Port in Maharashtra’s Palghar district to the national highway 48 has been approved by the Union cabinet, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) said on Tuesday.
The JNPA is developing the Vadhvan Port.
The National Highways Authority of India’s Land Acquisition Committee (NHAI-LAC) has approved road connectivity for Vadhvan Port from NH-48 of about 32 km and authorised the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to make relevant decisions, the JNPA said in a statement.
Notification for land acquisition will commence after the ministry declares the road as national highway. The gazette notification of the government has issued a declaration of national highway from NH-48 (Tawa Junction) to Vadhvan Port on August 12.
JNPA chairman Unmesh Sharad Wagh, said, “The construction of the road is a critical activity necessary to initiate the work at Vadhvan Port. It is essential for transporting quarry material from the sites to the port, as local roads are too narrow for such heavy transportation. The declaration by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to designate this road as a National Highway will expedite the process significantly.”
Once the notification is issued by the NHAI, land acquisition will commence immediately. The NHAI will also invite tenders for the construction of an initial two-lane road, approximately 20 KM long, to facilitate material transport. This road will be part of the dedicated connectivity to Vadhvan, with plans to extend it as required for full road connectivity to the port.”
The Union cabinet approved the Vadhvan Port project in June this year and the JNPA later invited Expression of Interest (EoI) for the development and maintenance of land to be created in offshore of Vadhvan coast by dredging, reclamation and construction of an offshore protection bund, which received interest from several leading organisations.
Construction of the port is expected to commence after the next monsoon, once the road connectivity is established.