Comments
The Centre will fund the upgradation and modernisation of the Kakinada Anchorage Port — currently run by the Andhra Pradesh Government — under the Sagarmala programme. This comes after efforts to build a port at Dugarajapatnam in AP’s Nellore district did not make any headway.
Sagarmala Development Company Limited has called for bids from consultancy firms to write a detailed project report to upgrade and modernise the facilities at the Kakinada Anchorage Port, a Shipping Ministry official said.
Kakinada already has a deep-water port run by privately held Kakinada Seaports Ltd, while a greenfield commercial port is being built by the GMR Group at Kona village in Thondangi mandal of East Godavari district to cater to its own Kakinada Special Economic Zone as well as for third parties. The Anchorage Port, with a century-old history, was set up as a key facility on the Eastern seaboard to handle 4 million tonnes (mt) of cargo a year. It is the main gateway port for the rich agriculture belt of East and West Godavari and Krishna Districts of Andhra Pradesh
In spite of the low mechanisation of facilities, the Anchorage Port has been a major revenue earner among AP’s ports, handling export commodities such as rice, maize and cement while edible oils are imported through the port.
In FY 2017, 1.96 mt of cargo was handled at the port contributing ₹19.74 crore to the State government. The port has been earning ₹19–27 crore a year over the last five years. It also compares well with other highly developed private ports in AP.
The port is a major employment generator in the region providing jobs to around 10,000 families, directly and indirectly.
Industrial corridor
Kakinada is expected to emerge a key industrial zone with the State government drawing up ambitious plans to develop the Visakhapatnam-Kakinada Industrial Corridor. The Central Government’s focus on boosting coastal shipment of cargo is likely to generate an additional 3–4 mt over the next few years.
“Hence, upgrading the existing infrastructure at the Kakinada Anchorage Port is the need of the hour,” the Shipping Ministry official said.
The existing port infrastructure has the reached maximum utilisation level and there is a need for significant upgradation at the port, including deepening the channel and construction of wharves in view of the immense cargo potential in the region, he added.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.