Visakhapatnam Port celebrates many of its achievements

Visakhapatnam : From 1933, Visakhapatnam Port, inaugurated by the then Viceroy and Governor General of India Willingdon, has been catering to the diverse trade and cargo requirements for the past nine decades.

Constructed by engineers WC Ash and OB Rattenbury and established by the Britishers, the port was thrown open to ocean traffic 90 years ago dated October 7, 1933 with the arrival of a passenger ship SS Jaladurga of Scindia Steam Navigation Company.

Although construction of the port commenced in 1927, it was opened to ocean traffic six years later. Back then, the port was catering to the increasing demand for wool apart from manganese ore, jaggery, jute, oil seeds, among other products.

Surrounded by RINL, SAIL, NTPC, NALCO, NMDC, MMTC, HSL, among several other companies., the Visakhapatnam Port has a vast hinterland, serving major sectors such as steel, power, mining, petroleum, besides container segment and contributing significantly to the economy.

With a series of developmental works, smart, sustainable infrastructure development projects in store, the port is striving towards becoming a landlord port model by 2030.

On the eve of the 90th Formation Day, Chairperson of Visakhapatnam Port Authority M Angamuthu said the port has achieved self-sufficiency in generating the required energy by commissioning a 10 MW utility scale solar photovoltaic power plant with power generation of about 178 lakh units per annum.

Sharing details of the modernisation and upgradation of Fishing Harbour at Visakhapatnam Port, the VPA Chairperson mentioned that it is being taken up under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) with an investment of Rs 150 crore. The project is expected to be completed by next year.

Visakha Container Terminal (VCT) with a quay length of 845 meters and natural depth of 16m is an ideal gateway for container traffic from AP, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. “The container terminal in VPA has shown impressive performance with 38 percent growth. Two new container liners – PA Maritime and SITC have started their operations from this terminal. VCT is gradually evolving as a regional transhipment hub in the Bay of Bengal with containers from Kolkata, Haldia, Paradip, Kakinada, Chittagong and Yangon getting transhipped here,” Angamuthu explained.

In addition, Visakhapatnam International Cruise Terminal has a huge potential to take cruise tourism several notches up. With the Ministry of Tourism and government of AP developing the tourism with water sports, the VPA Chairman opined Buddhist tourist circuit linking Sri Lanka, Taiwan holds a promising future.

The port has shown a significant improvement in its key performance indicators. Cargo volumes have gone up by 3 percent, TRT improved by 17 percent, pre-berthing detention reduced by 67 percent.Among a host of development projects, the port is creating facilities for improving logistic efficiency. Also, a truck parking terminal with world class facilities to park 666 vehicles is made operational.