Andhra
Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy would formally commence the works
for the construction of the Machilipatnam Port, the place where river Krishna
joins the Bay of Bengal on May 22nd.
The port will have
four dedicated berths with a capacity to handle 35 million tons of
cargo. The State government has taken up the project at a cost of Rs 5,156
crore. Officials said the port, once completed, would transform the district as
it would mark the beginning of the expansion of commercial activities.
Andhra Pradesh
government has decided to set three major Greenfield ports in various parts of
the state one in north central and southern part of the
state in bid to give a boost to economic development. Anhdra Pradesh has major
ports in Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram, Kakinada and Krishnapatnam.
The port is
expected to be ready in 24 to 30 months. Four berths would be set up for handling
imports and exports of general cargo, coal and multipurpose containers. Six
more berths would be added and capacity would be enhanced to 115 million tons
per annum as per the growing traffic in future.
Machilipatnam
Port would cater to exports of fertilizers, coal, cooking oil, containers,
agricultural products, cement, granite, cement clinker, iron ore from districts
of Guntur, Krishna, NTR, East and West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh and from
Khammam, Karimnagar, Adilabad, Nalgonda and Warangal districts in neighbouring
Telangana.
Authorities
explained that a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) —Machilipatnam Port Development
Corporation Limited— was established in February 2020 to take up the
construction of the Port. The port
obtained environmental clearances on February 28, 2023 and permits from the
Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board were obtained on April 13, 2023.
Land acquisition of 1,923 acres was completed
in March 2023.