Maharashtra Government and Adani Ports Sign ₹42,500 Crore MoU to Expand Dighi Port and Build Industrial Area

What was decided

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Maharashtra Maritime Board and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd for an estimated investment of about ₹42,500 crore for expansion of Dighi Port in Raigad district into a 140 MMTPA mega multi-cargo port. This is the operative decision: a state-level maritime authority (Maharashtra Maritime Board) entering into an MoU with a private port operator (APSEZ) to commit capital and technical scope for port expansion. The MoU was signed on the opening day of India Maritime Week 2025 in Mumbai.

The agreement signed also includes developing a very big industrial area around the port along with the central government, according to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. No separate notification, gazette order, or land allotment document for this specific industrial-area component was found as of this writing — the MoU records intent, not a finalised land plan.

Who decided, and in what forum

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the MoU with Adani Group is part of a larger package of 15 maritime agreements signed by the state government, together valued at over ₹56,000 crore, aimed at positioning Maharashtra as a "maritime superpower" through large-scale port expansion, shipyard development, and technological innovation. The investment was announced as part of 15 agreements entailing investments of over Rs 56,000 crore signed by the government on the sidelines of the India Maritime Week's opening day.

The initiative aligns with the Union Government's target of securing ₹10 lakh crore in investment commitments during India Maritime Week 2025, situating the Dighi MoU within a national maritime-investment push rather than as an isolated state decision.

Operative details: capacity, berths, and structures

According to the state government's own summary of the signed MoU, the expansion targets are: expansion of Dighi Port in Raigad district into a 140 MMTPA mega multi-cargo port with 22 berths and 2 SPMs, featuring a 7.8 km quay length, 4.6 km breakwater, and 7.1 km protection bund. These are the specific infrastructure metrics attached to the MoU — no phased timeline or berth-wise cost breakdown was disclosed publicly at signing.

Exact details of the Adani Group's fresh commitment were not immediately known beyond these headline figures at the time of the announcement, and Fadnavis did not spell out a timeline by which the investments will happen.

How this adds to Adani's existing Dighi position

Adani Group had acquired the bankrupt Dighi Port in 2021 for ₹705 crore and committed ₹10,000 crore for its revival. With this latest infusion, the group's total investment now exceeds ₹52,500 crore, underlining its long-term intent to transform Dighi Port into a key maritime and industrial gateway. The new ₹42,500 crore is therefore additive to — not a replacement of — the earlier acquisition and redevelopment commitments.

Context: the separate Dighi Industrial Smart City (DPIA) approval

The MoU's reference to "a very big industrial area around the port" builds on a distinct, earlier central-government decision. At the backdrop of a decision by the Government of India on 28 August 2024 approving 12 industrial nodes/cities under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme, the DPIIT Secretary visited the proposed site for the Dighi Port Industrial Area. DPIA is proposed over 6,056 acres at a cost of Rs. 5,469 crore, and will be a port-led development due to its proximity to Dighi Port, which is 55 km from the site.

With sectors like general engineering, food & beverages, and pharmaceuticals proposed to set up manufacturing units at DPIA, an investment of Rs. 38,000 crore is expected, creating employment opportunities for about 1,14,000 people. DPIA is designed to cater to sectors like Engineering, Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals, Textiles, and Food & Beverages, and as of February 2025, Union Minister Piyush Goyal conducted an aerial survey of the upcoming DPIA, with officials briefing him on advanced trunk infrastructure, master planning, and sectoral opportunities. This DPIA/NICDC project and the October 2025 Adani port-expansion MoU are two related but separately-decided initiatives that the state is now positioning as complementary.

Practical effect

As an MoU, the October 2025 agreement is a statement of investment intent between Maharashtra Maritime Board and APSEZ, not a construction permit, environmental clearance, or binding contract with penalties for non-performance. Its practical effects, as reported, are: (1) it sets a public benchmark figure (~₹42,500 crore) and technical scope (140 MMTPA, 22 berths, 2 SPMs) against which future port-expansion works at Dighi can be tracked; (2) it signals central-government involvement in an accompanying industrial area around the port, which investors and local stakeholders should track for follow-up land, environmental, and regulatory approvals; and (3) it forms part of a wider ₹56,000 crore, 15-MoU maritime package that Maharashtra says is meant to attract further supply-chain and manufacturing investment along its coast. The plan signals a much broader ambition — including the creation of a large industrial and logistics zone around the port in collaboration with the central government, designed to boost regional manufacturing and exports. No subsequent gazette notification, land-acquisition order, or RERA registration tied specifically to this October 2025 MoU was found as of this writing; readers should treat the underlying port and industrial-area works as announced/committed, not yet operational.