Japan K Pathak, Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government is set to initiate the Port City project in the near future. Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai has proposed an allocation of Rs. 100 crore for the financial year 2025-26 in the annual budget of the state, which he presented on February 20th.

An amount of Rs. 100 crore provisioned under the head of department of Ports in the budget shall be utilized as government equity participation for the proposed Special Purpsoe Vehicle(SPV) for the Port city project.

The concept for developing a port city had found mention in the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB)’s Vision 2047 document, which was released during the Vibrant Gujarat summit in 2024.

Proposed port cities may have deep-draught and multipurpose terminals, shipbuilding and repair facilities, marine water sports, and more. It will include industrial units, exim zones, warehouses, cold storage, hi-tech parks, and multimodal connectivity. Once the master plan and the location are finalized, tenders will be floated, inviting developers for the port city.

In 2013, Gujarat had first mooted the idea for the development of two port cities at Mundra and Pipavav. GMB had prepared a concept plan for a ₹6,000 crore, 500 sq km Mundra port city, scheduled for completion by 2041 and capable of housing 15 lakh people. Later, the diversified conglomerate GVK Group had also proposed to build a port city at Dahej in South Gujarat. The proposed site was thereafter shifted to Okha on the western end of the state. None of the projects kicked off. DeshGujarat