Sonowal dedicates Rs.216.53 crore projects to the nation
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways said it is financially supporting the modernisation and upgradation of Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour with a total project cost of Rs.151 crore and Sagarmala Grant in Aid of Rs.50 crore.
For upliftment of fishermen community, development of Fishing Harbour in Juvvaladinne in SPSR Nellore District has been taken up with financial assistance under Sagarmala. The Rs.288 crore project is expected to be completed by October 2023.
The ministry also gave an update on 4 Sept on 113 projects, worth more than Rs.1.23 lakh crore Andhra Pradesh. These projects have been identified under the Sagarmala Programme.
Out of the total projects, 36 projects worth Rs.32,210 crore have been completed and 50 projects worth Rs73,500 crore are under implementation while 27 projects worth Rs.17,700 crore are in various stages of development.
The Vishakhapatnam Fishing Harbour is one of the first five major fishing harbours which will be developed as “Hubs of Economic Activity”. It will provide clean, decongested and hygienic modern ecosystem for fishing activities, said the Ministry.
Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal has dedicated projects worth Rs.216.53 crores to the nation, including inauguration of world class state-of-the-art Vizag International Cruise Terminal (VICT) in Vishakhapatnam on 4 Sept 2023.
The Minister also inaugurated Covered Storage Shed-2 in Port area, 1 World Class Truck parking terminal as well as 1 Oil refinery berth, in an attempt to boost the capacity of the Vizag Port (VPA) towards becoming a regional hub of cruise and cargo traffic in the near future.
Sonowal said, “The ports of India has been developing to reach the global standard with a focus approach on modernisation, mechanisation and digitisation.
“Our ports led development approach is an important element to realise this vision and we remain at work to modernise, equip and enable our ports to become a vital lynchpin of development of the region.”
Cargo movement capacity has increased to 1,681 million MT at 12 major ports.
Sonowal elaborated, “With robust communications gateways via railways, roadways and airways, the revamped marine waterways is likely to add Visakhapatnam’s potential to become a major hub of cruise tourism and maritime trade.”
The government is committed to develop world class infrastructure to support and enable growth of cruise tourism and maritime trade, he underlined.
“We expect that the volume of cruise ships will increase from 208 in 2023 to 500 in 2030 and up to 1,100 by 2047. The number of passengers availing cruise services is also likely to increase from 9.5 lakhs in 2030 to 45 lakhs in 2047,” said the Minister.
Similarly, economic potential is also expected to be increase from Rs.712 crores in 2016 to Rs.35,500 crores by 2041, he added.
The newly inaugurated VICT was developed with an investment of Rs.96.05 crores with a grant of Rs.38.50 crores by the Ministry of Tourism.
It has a capacity to accommodate 2,000 passenger vessels, requiring a draft of 8.1 meters.
The Port has started construction of 4 Covered Storage Sheds to store bulk cargo with a capacity of 294,000 MT at a cost of Rs.116.04 crores.
The newly inaugurated Covered Storage Shed at R1 area was built at an investment of Rs.33.80 crores. This Shed, with a capacity to store 84,000 tonnes of cargo, have mist arrangement for dust suppression to reduce dust pollution.
Revamping of oil refinery berths I, II & III is going on with an investment of Rs.167.66 crore to handle 14.5 m draft or 85,000 DWT vessels.
The inaugurated Oil Refinery 1 berth – with a length of 243 Mt & constructed at a cost of Rs.50.63 crore – will enhance capacity addition by 3.81 MMT.
The world class Truck Parking Terminal – spread over an area of 20 acres of Port land – was developed with an investment of Rs.36.05 crores. It will increase parking space for port-bound vehicles providing seamless movement of trucks.
The Terminal can accommodate 666 vehicles. It also has a 100 bedded dormitory, shops, ATM, Fuel station, Weigh Bridge of 100 Tonne capacity, Workshop and servicing stations and other facilities for the staff operating the trucks. Fiinews.com
