Shipping minister Sarbandnada Sonowal directs VPA to expedite port works

Visakhapatnam: Minister of ports, shipping and waterways Sarbandnada Sonowal directed the Visakhapatnam Port Authority officials to complete the works related to cruise terminal, covered storage sheds and modernisation of the fishing harbour on a war footing.

As a part of his two-day visit to Visakhapatnam, he visited the port on Monday and reviewed the progress of various projects and initiatives taken by the port.

He interacted with the BOT operators, port users and Stevedores Association of the Port and took stock of their issues and suggestions for improving the port performance along VPA Chairman K Rama Mohana Rao.

The Union Minister reviewed the progress of the projects implemented by the port at a cost of Rs 1,446 crore. Some of them include the OR-1 and OR-2 capacity augmentation project with an investment of Rs 167 crore which is expected to be ready by September next.

However, one berth OR-3 was ready and made operational. The firefighting system at OR-1 & OR-2 is being taken by the port to handle bigger size vessels with an investment of Rs 28 crore and will be operational by October. The cruise terminal taken up with an investment of Rs 53 crore will be commissioned by April next.

The port has taken up the modernisation of fishing harbour at a cost of Rs 152 crore. VPA took up the mechanisation of EQ-7 project at an estimated cost of Rs 200.99 crore and is expected to commence its operation by January 2025 with an exclusive mechanised facility for handling fertilizers. Further, the Union minister also met trade unions and noted their demands and suggestions.