Redevelopment of 300 acres of dock lands on the eastern seafront of Mumbai (India) have been enabled in part by new technologies that require less land area for port operations.
Mumbai Port Trust is a port which lies midway on the West coast of India, on the natural deep-water harbour of Mumbai, Maharashtra. The harbour spreads over 400 square kilometres (150 sq mi), and is protected by the mainland of Konkan to its east and north and by the island city of Mumbai to its west. The harbour opens to the south to the Arabian Sea.
The port is administered by the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), an autonomous corporation wholly owned by the Government of India. The port is primarily used for bulk cargo, while most container traffic is directed to Nhava Sheva port across the harbour.
Mumbai Harbour has been used by ships and boats for centuries. It was used by the Maratha Navy, as well as the British and Portuguese colonial navies.
The first of the present-day docks of the Mumbai Port were built in the 1870s. Bombay Port Trust (BPT) was established as a corporation on June 26, 1873.
The master plan for the redevelopment of excess port land will be completed in the next six months, said the Chairman of Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), Sanjay Bhatia.
Bhatia said that the redevelopment would be carried out in phases. The waterfront revitalization will be self-financed. Funding would be raised through instruments such as long-term land leases.
MbPT has been operating the port since 1873. Due to changes in technology, and nature of the business environment, MbPT land requirement for port operations has been shrinking.
It has 1,800-hectares of land, out of which 500 hectares would be redeveloped in the first phase. The 500-acre land parcel is further split into 300 acres for Mumbai city and 200 acres for allied port operations.
Photo credit: KuwarOnline via Wikipedia.