India has a rich maritime heritage, and the earliest maritime evidence dates back to around 4500 years. To showcase India’s rich and diverse maritime heritage, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has envisioned the development of a National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal near Ahmedabad. Lothal is one among the prominent cities of the traditional Harappan civilization, dating to 2400 BC, located in Gujarat. NMHC will not only curate and present diverse & rich artefacts from ancient to modern times from across India but also inspire the public and make them aware of and learn about our glorious maritime heritage.

The NMHC project, is envisaged to be one of the largest maritime complexes in the world which is aimed to be developed as a world class and unique complex having a comprehensive integration of past, present, and future maritime activities, edutainment through interactive and experiential holistic learning, depiction of life size architecture of Lothal, etc. The project components of NMHC include NMHC museum with 14 galleries, Lothal Town and Open Aquatic Gallery, Lighthouse Museum, Bagicha Complex, Coastal State Pavilions and Recreation of Lothal city, Eco resorts and Museuotel, Theme based parks, Maritime research institute and hostel, etc.The NMHC project will not only boost tourism but will also generate employment in large numbers and will also help in reviving the local businesses of the region.

The foundation stone of the project was laid by Hon’ble Prime Minister in March 2019. MoPSW has appointed Indian Ports Association as the nodal agency, while Indian Port Rail Corporation Ltd (IPRCL) as executing agency of the project. The masterplan of the project has been prepared by renowned architecture firm M/s Architect Hafeez Contractor and the construction of phase 1A has been entrusted to Tata Projects Ltd. The Govt. of Gujarat has transferred a land of 400 acres for the project development and has also undertaken the development of external infrastructure and part of basic internal infrastructure of the project.