PFC pledges ₹21,000-crore for Vadhavan Port project

State-owned Power Finance Corp (PFC) has committed about ₹21,000 crore toward helping build India's largest ever container port, the Vadhavan Port along the western coast, people aware of the development told ET.

The big-ticket sanction comes almost two months after the union cabinet's approval of the ₹76,220-crore mega port project to be developed at Palghar district in Maharashtra.

The project is to be developed by the Vadhavan Port Project Ltd, a special purpose vehicle formed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority and the Maharashtra Maritime Board. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Maharashtra on August 30 for its foundation stone laying ceremony.

PFC did not respond to a request for comment by ET.

The non-banking financial company has been diversifying its asset portfolio to include some infrastructure projects, going beyond its traditional bailiwick of power and renewable energy.

PFC has been building upon its infrastructure lending business to build sustainable revenue streams and asset portfolios. The company's standalone loan book stood at ₹4.75 lakh crore as on June 30. Of the loan book, only 1.7% constituted the infrastructure sector, though higher than 0.24% on the same date a year ago.

"It is important for PFC to change and adapt to the new business realities," the company had said after its June quarter earnings call.

The development of the port includes core infrastructure, terminals and other commercial infrastructure in public-private partnership mode. The port will be established with road connectivity and rail linkage and the upcoming dedicated rail freight corridor.

The project will handle a cumulative capacity of 298 million tons per year, including around 23.2 million twenty-foot equivalents (TEUs) of container handling capacity.