The Vadhavan Port Project (VPPL) is developing the deep-draft greenfield Vadhavan Port in Palghar District, Maharashtra. The port will be constructed on reclaimed land covering 1,448 hectare, which will be created by filling approximately 200 million cubic metre of sand. The sand required for this reclamation will be dredged from a designated offshore site located 60 km from the project site and 50 km off the coast of Daman. The Ministry of Mines has reserved 10,277.1 hectare (102.77 square km) of offshore area for this purpose. A comprehensive study conducted by IIT Madras included site-specific borehole testing, confirming the suitability of the dredged sand for reclamation. Based on this assessment, JNPA submitted an application to the Ministry of Mines in October 2023 for the reservation and reclamation of sand. The Ministry approved the request and officially reserved the offshore area for VPPL’s mining activities through a government notification issued on December 21, 2023. On February 28, 2025, the Ministry of Mines granted a mining license under the Offshore Area Mineral (Development & Regulations) Act, 2006, for a period of ten years. The Letter of Intent (LOI) was formally handed over to VPPL and JNPA representatives during an official ceremony attended by key government officials. The estimated cost of extracting 2,000 million cubic meters of sand from land sources is Rs 120 billion, including Rs 14.40 billion in royalties to the Government of India. However, utilising sand from the sea has resulted in cost savings of Rs 60 billion compared to land-based sand and murum extraction. Additionally, offshore dredging has a significantly lower environmental impact compared to land-based mining activities. News source: Maritime Gateway