Dedicated terminal for car exports to come up at Krishnapatnam

The all-weather container terminal is being set up at a cost of Rs 1,500 cr

Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal (KPCT), stated to be the largest and deepest draft container terminal on the east coast of the country, is developing a dedicated terminal for export of cars.

The future plans of Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited (KPCL) include construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petroleum oil and lubricant jetty. While work on the car terminal is stated to be in progress, LNG jetty is expected to be established in a span of two years.

The all-weather container terminal, dedicated to the nation by chief minister Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy on Tuesday, is being set up at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore.

Phase I of KPCT, commissioned on September 30, 2011, has two berths with a total berth length of 650 metres. KPCL master plan envisages a total of 42 berths with total quay length of 12.5 km and a draft of 20 metres, capable of handling 200,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) super capsize vessels.

Following the completion of the second phase of KPCT, its capacity would go up to 6 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) a year from the existing 1.2 million TEUs now. Phase II, expected to be completed by the end of the current financial year, comprises seven container berths with a total berth length of 2,000 metres.

Promoted by Hyderabad-based CVR group, Krishnapatnam port spans over an area of 6,500 acres providing ample space for import and export cargo and containers as well as transshipment operations. The company expects cargo exports from the port, which stood at 21.12 million tonnes in 2012-13, to go up to 30 million tonnes in the current fiscal.

According to a KPCL press release, connection offered by container liners from KPCT to various parts of the world is benefiting importers and exporters in the immediate hinterlands of Guntur, Ongole, Vijayawada, Gudur, Kodur and Nellore in the state.

"Our container terminal is the one of the most technically advanced terminals in the world offering tremendous benefits not just to liners companies but also to the import and export trade community,"Anil Yendluri, chief executive officer of Krishnapatnam Port, said.

KPCT has won the mandate from the state government to develop Krishnapatnam, which had been a minor port, into a modern, deep water port with a concession period of 50 years. The port is being built in three phases at a total cost of Rs 17,000 crore. The final phase is expected to be completed in the next 10 years.