The Visakhapatnam port has taken nine major projects under the public-private partnership mode, two of which have been completed and the rest being in various stages, to boost its capacity and also to mechanise cargo-handling to face challenges from the private ports, according to Deputy Chairman G.V.L Satya Kumar.

He said at a press meet that the concession agreement with Vadinar Oil Terminals Pvt. Ltd. of the Essar group for modernisation and upgrading of the iron ore-handling complex (OHC) was signed in Chennai last week and the group would invest Rs 845 crore on the project.

“Though there is a case pending in the AP High Court, the concession agreement was signed, as the court permitted us to go ahead with the tendering process. There is nothing improper about it and we obtained legal opinion,” he clarified.

mechanisation Satya Kumar also said there was no room for any apprehensions by workers about mechanisation of OHC and the excess workforce would be redeployed in other sections.

In response to a question why the port had not taken up the work on its own, as proposed initially, he said that the decision to undertake it in the PPP mode was taken by the Union Ministry of Shipping as a matter of policy. He said the port would get a revenue share of 31.01 per cent.

He said that the capacity of the port would rise to 140 million tonnes by 2016-17 and the throughput of 85 million tonnes (mt) and the respective figures by 2020 would be 150 mt and 105 mt.

“During the past two years, our cargo-handling has suffered due to the many ongoing projects, but it will improve from the next financial year. Last financial year (2012-13), we handled 59 mt and during the current financial year also we may have the same figure. Till date, we have handled 38 mt,” he said.

> sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in

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