JSW Infrastructure to develop Murbe Port near Vadhvan

The Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) has granted a letter of intent to JSW Infrastructure to develop a multipurpose port at Murbe in Palghar on public private partnership (PPP).

The port will be built on the design, built, own, operate and transfer (DBOOT) model, says a release by JSW Infrastructure to the stock exchanges.

"This LOI is an in-principle approval for the said project, which is subject to fulfilment of the terms and conditions stipulated therein. The LOI is valid for the period of 24 months, with a further extension clause. The royalty payable is based on per metric tonne which will be escalated in the block period of five years."

The project is likely to cost around Rs 4,200 crore, The Economic Times reported.

"Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Infrastructure had quoted a royalty of Rs 11 per metric tonne across cargo types while seeking approval for the port, located hardly 40 kms away from the Vadhvan Port being developed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority."

The proposed Murbe port is designed to be an all-weather, multi-cargo commercial port, the release added. "The proposed port is located near major highways such as the National Highway 8 & the state highway (Boisar Road) and rail corridors such as the Delhi-Mumbai trunk rail route and the Dedicated Western Freight Corridor."

The Murbe greenfield project aligns with JSW’s FY2030 growth plan to increase capacity from 170 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 400 MTPA, the release added.