Vadhvan Port Project Ltd has invited bids for Rs 17 billion worth of coastal reclamation and coastal protection works under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode in what will be the first step towards building a new major deep-water port at Vadhvan near Dahanu in Palghar district of Maharashtra. "Out of this, we will create nearly 200 acres of land close to the coast from where we can launch our offshore works like breakwaters and land reclamation. All other activities will start here. It will serve as a landing point for future works and then, once all the offshore works are completed, this will be used as a yard for storing containers, building tank farms and laying railway lines, etc," Unmesh Wagh, chairman of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, told ET Infra. Vadhvan Port Project Ltd is a joint venture between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (74 per cent equity) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (26 per cent equity), to implement Vadhvan Port. The core infrastructure for the new deep-water port, such as dredging, land reclamation, coastal protection works, breakwater, approach bridge, rail and road connectivity, land acquisition and other usual utilities, involves an investment of Rs 389.76 billion. Of this, dredging, offshore land reclamation and coastal protection works are being executed on a Public Private Partnership (PPP)/Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) basis, estimated to be worth Rs 20,647 crore. The rest of the core infrastructure is being created through EPC mode. Furthermore, the remaining project cost of Rs 37,244 crore is being invested by the private operators of container terminals, multipurpose berths, coastal freight berths, RO-RO and liquid berths selected by Vadhvan Port Project Ltd. Vadhvan Port will be designed to handle 298 million tonnes (mt) of cargo, including 23.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).