Andhra Pradesh aims to raise sea exports by 10%

Amaravati: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy emphasised the need for promoting 'blue economy' and appreciated the draft of the National Fishing Policy released by the Government of India in September 2020.

Speaking during the virtual Maritime Summit chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the chief minister said, "I believe that the importance of 'blue economy' in a nation's growth.

He said the true value of the blue economy is unlocked only when all the allied sectors that are directly and indirectly dependent on the ocean such as aquaculture, maritime and coastal tourism, chemical and bio-technological exploration, shipbuilding and other port-led industries also mature enough to provide sustainable employment and growth opportunities.

Andhra Pradesh, he said, has taken up a lot of transformative steps to leverage its coastal line of 974 km, which is the second-longest in India and the longest on the eastern coast of the country.

Andhra Pradesh has one major port in Visakhapatnam, 5 functional State ports and 10 other notified State ports with world-class facilities that handle more than 170 million tonnes of cargo per annum, second only to Gujarat. Andhra Pradesh shares 4 per cent of total Indian exports and we aim to reach a 10 per cent share by 2030.

Andhra Pradesh will have three functional Greenfield ports by 2023 creating an additional capacity of at least 100 million tonnes cargo per annum, Jagan said.

The government of Andhra Pradesh has consciously taken steps to attract huge investments in the sectors ranging from manufacturing, petrochemicals, food processing and pharmaceuticals, which are port dependent.

The State Government with the support of the Government of India while promoting skilling by establishing an aqua university has also undertaken the development of 8 fishing harbours, the establishment of testing labs and cold chain facilities to provide a better ecosystem for aquaculture thereby increasing the share of aqua-related cargo from the ports.

The Chief Minister extended an invitation to the representatives from various companies from India and abroad attending this summit through the Government of India to invest in Andhra Pradesh.