Vizag set to become a hub for cruise tourism, says Sonowal

Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarabananda Sonowal on Monday declared that Visakhapatnam is all set to become a day cruise hub with projected handling of over nine lakh passengers by 2030.

He was interacting with the media after inaugurating the Vizag International Cruise Terminal (VICT) and three other projects completed with a total cost of Rs 336.56 crore by Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA).

Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways V. Sripad Naik, AP Minister for Industries Gudivada Amarnath, MPs MVV Satyanarayana, BV Satyavati and GVL Narasimha Rao, Mayor H. Hari Venkata Kumari, VPA Chairman M. Angamuthu and others attended the inaugural ceremony.

The cruise terminal will initially handle vessels carrying 2,000 passengers. It was built with world-class infrastructure at a cost of Rs.96.05 crore with Ministry of Tourism funding Rs 38.5 crore.

Sonowal lauded the efforts of VPA in transforming Visakhapatnam into a financial and industrial hub. Stating that Andhra Pradesh is resource-rich, he said the State is contributing a lot for the nation's growth.

With massive mechanisation, VPA is striving hard to stop dust pollution by initiating measures for handling cargo in a clean environment.

"Green ports our crucial for achieving blue economy. That's why we are encouraging green hydrogen and green ammonia as fuel," he said.

Under dynamic stewardship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said Sagarmala projects are being implemented with a massive outlay of Rs 5.6 lakh crore. He informed that AP has been sanctioned several projects envisaging an investment of over Rs. 1 lakh crore.

Sonowal said 12 major ports in India after Modi became PM increased their capacity from 871 MTPA to 1681 MTPA in 2022.

He said India has become the talking point in the advanced countries as it has emerged as fifth largest economy in nine years-a significant improvement from 10th position in 2014.