The Kakinada port in Central Andhra Pradesh coast is being expanded to provide for an anchorage port where cargo handling could take place in the mid seas at an investment of Rs.91 crores under Sagar Mala Program of the Union Ports Ministry.
The Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister Gudivada Amarnath laid the foundation stone for the expansion works of the anchorage port being set up by Sagar Mala Development
Corporation along with L and T Infrastructure Engineering Limited on November
24th.
The works are being taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 73.34 crore to improve the
Anchorage port facilities. Under the project the Anchorage port will develop
with revetment strengthening, new roads and existing loading points
construction as well as construction of wharves for mechanical handling.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that the Port will play an important role in the port-based development in Andhra Pradesh. Four more ports will be set up in the state including one at Ramayanpatnam at an estimated cost of Rs 3500 crores and another at Machilipatnam costing four thousand crores. The foundation stone for Machilipatnam port is likely to be laid next month.
Besides these two ports, two more ports one at Bhavanapadu in Srikakulam district in North Andhra Pradesh and another one in Kakinada district are in the pipeline, the minister
said.
As many as nine fishing harbors are being developed along the long coast of the state which will check the migrations of fisher folk from the state to faraway places. He also said that four fishing harbors are under construction and the three will become operational soon.
He said that the AP has the second largest coastline in the country and will have a booming import and export as the government is determined to develop 10 ports and 9 fishing harbors.
