NEW DELHI, October 8 — The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday accorded formal administrative and financial sanction for the execution of Phase-1B and Phase-2 of the landmark National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at the Harappan archaeological site of Lothal in Gujarat, committing an aggregate investment of ₹4,500 crore under the Sagarmala Programme.
Conceived by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, the world-class international cultural destination encompasses the world's tallest experiential lighthouse museum, an ancient Harappan dry-dock replica, maritime research academies, and fourteen thematic galleries narrating India's 5,000-year seafaring odyssey from the Bronze Age through contemporary blue-water naval dominance. The project integrates multi-tier funding models combining budgetary support, port corporate social responsibility (CSR) endowments, and public-private partnership (PPP) hospitality concessions.
The sprawling 400-acre master plan features specialized defense pavilions developed in collaboration with the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard, providing immersive digital recreations of ancient maritime trade corridors linking the Indus Valley with Mesopotamian, Dilmun, and Magan civilizations. The complex is engineered to serve as an international tourist magnet, generating thousands of hospitality, artisanal, and heritage tourism jobs across coastal Saurashtra.
The urban layout of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), Lothal's engineering genius as the world's earliest known tidal dockyard, ancient Indian Ocean maritime trade routes, and the Sagarmala Programme are recurrent subjects across UPSC Civil Services (GS-I: Ancient Indian History and Culture) and State PCS examinations. Aspirants should note that Lothal was excavated by archaeologist S.R. Rao in 1954 along the Bhogava River basin (a tributary of the Sabarmati), yielding vital archaeological artifacts including button seals, bead factories, and the sophisticated brick tidal basin.