Vizag port to build six berths for Rs 1000 cr
Work on the project likely to begin by September. The Visakhapatnam port will construct 5-6 new berths over the next two to three years at an investment of over Rs 1,000 crore, said Ajay Kallam, chairman, Visakhapatnam Port Trust. The port currently has 26 berths both in the outer and inner harbours. “Most of the work would start before September 2009. Some of the investments would be from internal accruals and some through private parties,” Kallam told Business Standard.
The port has a handling capacity of about 65 million tonne and once the proposed berths become operational, this would increase to 85 million tonne per year, he added.
This apart, the port would modernise the existing general cargo berth (GCB) with an investment of Rs 413 crore. “The proposed modernisation includes strengthening of the berth, deepening of draft to 20 metre and erection of a mechanised handling facility. Work on this would be taken up soon,” he said.
The modernisation of the GCB will enable the port to unload 70,000 tonne of coking and thermal coal a day from the present 24,000 tonne. The GCB would also be able to handle 200,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) vessels.
In spite of the ongoing recession, the port expects to handle about 65 million tonne of cargo during this fiscal. It lost about 1.5 million tonne of crude transshipment cargo, one million tonne of coking coal, compared with the last fiscal, to the Gangavaram port. Besides, there was a drop in iron ore due to a decline in imports from China, he said.
The port has a handling capacity of about 65 million tonne and once the proposed berths become operational, this would increase to 85 million tonne per year, he added.
This apart, the port would modernise the existing general cargo berth (GCB) with an investment of Rs 413 crore. “The proposed modernisation includes strengthening of the berth, deepening of draft to 20 metre and erection of a mechanised handling facility. Work on this would be taken up soon,” he said.
The modernisation of the GCB will enable the port to unload 70,000 tonne of coking and thermal coal a day from the present 24,000 tonne. The GCB would also be able to handle 200,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) vessels.
In spite of the ongoing recession, the port expects to handle about 65 million tonne of cargo during this fiscal. It lost about 1.5 million tonne of crude transshipment cargo, one million tonne of coking coal, compared with the last fiscal, to the Gangavaram port. Besides, there was a drop in iron ore due to a decline in imports from China, he said.