Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), the financing arm of Indian Railways, is preparing to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vadhvan Port Project Ltd to provide up to ₹20,000 crore in funding for the construction of the upcoming Vadhvan Port in Maharashtra. The MoU will be formalised during India Maritime Week, which begins today in Mumbai.
The funding is expected at an interest rate of about 7–7.2 percent and will be drawn starting in 2027, after the project first uses its equity resources. The Vadhvan Port is a ₹76,220-crore deep-draft greenfield port being developed off the Palghar coast, designed to become one of India’s largest container logistics hubs.
Once operational, the port is planned to handle around 298 million tonnes of cargo every year, including up to 24.5 million TEUs of container traffic. This capacity is expected to position Vadhvan as a high-volume maritime logistics and transshipment gateway on India’s western coast.
IRFC, a Navratna PSU, has been diversifying beyond traditional railway rolling stock financing — now largely funded through gross budgetary support — and is moving into broader infrastructure lending across ports, rail links, coal mines, and power assets. It aims to offer loans at rates below other state-backed lenders to make large logistics infrastructure more cost-effective.
