Exclusive: Tatas, Shapoorji, others in race to build India's largest maritime museum

As many as six leading infrastructure firms are vying for a contract to build the proposed National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at an estimated cost of Rs 4,000 crore.

Government sources told Business Today Television that a Tata Group firm, Shapoorji Pallonji, KEC International, Cube Infra, and Ahluwalia Contracts have submitted bids to build the complex.

The NMHC is to be set up at Lothal, Gujarat. Lothal was one of the southernmost cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, located between the Sabarmati river and its tributary Bhogavo in the Saurashtra region. Archaeological excavations suggest that it was the world's earliest known dock.

Conceptualised as one of the largest maritime museums in the world, the idea behind the project is to celebrate the maritime heritage of India.

The Gujarat government has already allotted 375 acres land at Saragwala village on lease for 99 years to the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, which took possession of the land last July. Prominent architect Hafeez Contractor has designed the facility.

The maritime heritage complex would be an international tourist destination and would be developed in three-phases by 2026.

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