The Paradip Port in Odisha on Saturday became India's first mega port on the eastern coast, marking a major achievement for cargo handling across the country.
The state-owned Deendayal and Jawaharlal Nehru ports, as well as the Adani Ports-owned Mundra Port—all on the western coast—were the other three named as mega ports in a September 25 gazette notification by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), under sub-sections (2) and (3) of Section 73 of the Indian Ports Act, 2025 (27 of 2025).
According to a July 30 gazette notification, a 'mega port' is one that annually records at least 150 MMT per year in the case of a bulk port or 7.5 million TEUs over the same period in the case of a container port, a PTI report noted.
Notably, this designation is valid for five years, and does not affect the ports' existing status of 'major' or 'non-major'.
Issued by Praveen P. Nair, Joint Secretary, MoPSW, the notification came into effect from the date of its publication in the Gazette of India (Extraordinary). This also means that the four ports mentioned above are the first mega ports in the country.
The Paradip, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Deendayal ports are a part of India's 14 notified major ports, of which 12 are currently operational, while the Vadhvan Port in Maharashtra and the Galathea Bay Port in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are under construction.
Becoming mega ports has now placed these ports on a level above the other nine major ports in operation—the Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar, V.O Chidambaranar, Visakhapatnam, and the Syama Prasad Mookerjee ports—as far as cargo handling is concerned.
Why Mundra Port stands apart
The Mundra Port is a special case, because it is one in more than 200 non-major ports to be granted this designation.
Notably, the new label is also significant to the Paradip Port, because it comes after a series of moves to strengthen port infrastructure, operational capabilities, and maritime connectivity after it lost out the top spot among the list of India's busiest ports to the Deendayal Port.
Paradip Port eyes major expansion
The Paradip Port had recorded a cargo throughput of 156.45 million metric tonnes (MMT) last fiscal, whereas the Kandla-based port managed to reach 160.11 MMT, and plans to add "another 100 MMT through advanced container terminals, multi-cargo berths, and outer harbour expansion," Nilabhra Dasgupta, Deputy Chairperson at the Deendayal Port Authority (DPA), had said at THE WEEK Maritime Conclave 2026.
The new designation is also a major move to solidify the port's growth as a key maritime gateway in the east, and comes after the Paradip Port Authority's (PPA) overall plans to increase draft depth to 18.5m, which would allow the port to berth fully-laden Capesize vessels.
Capital dredging for this was part of seven infrastructure projects worth ₹427.80 crore inaugurated—and three concession agreements worth ₹1,580.36 crore for berth mechanisation signed—by Union Minister, MoPSW, Sarbananda Sonowal on August 21.
ANI reported that Susanta Kumar Purohit, Chairperson, VOCPA and PPA, expressed gratitude to PM Narendra Modi, Union shipping minister Sonowal, and Minister of State, MoPSW, Shantanu Thakur, for their support towards strengthening India's maritime sector, adding that the new designation was a significant milestone in the Odisha-based port's development journey.
