Vizag port set to finalise Rs 2,000 cr PPP projects

At present, Vizag port has a handling capacity of 66 mn tonnes, which it is aiming to enhance to 140 mn tonnes by upgrading its facilities

To increase its cargo handling capacity, Visakhapatnam port is in the process of finalising three projects under the public-private partnership mode with an outlay of Rs 2,000 crore, said Ajeya Kallam, chairman, Vizag port.

Various companies have submitted their bids and by March, the port would finalise the companies, he said. The projects would be ready by 2015-16.

Kallam was making a presentation on port developments in East Coast at a conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry here.

At present, Vizag port has a handling capacity of 66 million tonnes, which it is aiming to enhance to 140 million tonnes by upgrading and modernising its facilities. “Of the nine projects, we have already taken up six under the PPP mode with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore,” he said.

 

Apart from the PPP projects, the port is investing Rs 300 crore in dredging works and also investing in improving the road and rail network for fast evacuation of cargo, according to him.

BK Singh, special secretary, investment and infrastructure department, said the Andhra Pradesh government was keen on roping in private investors for modernising the non-major ports in the state. “We have 14 non-major ports in the state, of which only five are operational. The government is keen on developing the other ports with private participation,” he added.

The ports in the state together have a handling capacity of 85 million tonnes, which the government is targeting to increase to 200 million tonnes by 2020, he said.