AP plans to be world-class maritime state by 2030

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government is exploring partnerships with international players to give a major thrust to port-led infrastructure development that could create large-scale employment and propel the state towards its goal of becoming a 2 trillion-dollar economy by 2047.

The state aims to become a world-class maritime state by the year 2030 and drive a sustainable economic growth and coastal development by building state-of-the-art infrastructure and attracting global and domestic investments in the sector.

AP infrastructure and investment secretary S Suresh Kumar presented the state’s vision at the 29th Economic Development Cooperation Fund conference, organised by the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) in Seoul on Tuesday.

Suresh Kumar is on a five-day tour of the Republic of Korea on the invitation of KEXIM.

As part of the visit, the infrastructure and investment secretary is meeting the top brass of the Korean shipbuilding industry and exploring partnership for setting up shipbuilding and ship repair facilities in AP.

Suresh Kumar is also meeting officials of the Busan Port Authority, Hanjin Industries and Hyundai Industries showcasing the state’s potential and advantage for prospective investment in the maritime sector.

“Our aim is to foster sustainable development by building world-class infrastructure, attracting global and domestic investments and positioning Andhra Pradesh as a premier industrial hub. Establishing AP as a leading maritime state in India by 2030 is our focus area,” Suresh Kumar said.

The state, he noted, has been adopting innovative policies to achieve its objectives. “Efficient governance is also the key in this regard,” he added.

The lone major port (Visakhapatnam) and five non-major ports in the state together handled cargo of 198 million tonnes in 2023.

With four more non-major ports at Ramayapatnam, Machilipatnam, Kakinada (Gateway) and Mulapet set to become operational soon with a total investment of over Rs 16,000 crore, the state’s port cargo handling capacity would increase by 110 million tonnes by 2025-26, the infrastructure and investment secretary said.

Now, the state government is looking at giving a major push to port-led industrial development, including shipbuilding, repair and recycling, that would create jobs by the thousands.

“Proximal Area Development near ports, shipyard development and allied maritime activities are our focus areas along with port development. We have a 5000-acre land bank near the upcoming greenfield ports to enable setting up of industries. We are open to private sector partnerships for development of ports and also fishing harbour,” Suresh Kumar said.