Ramayapatnam Port to be operational in 3 yrs

Ramayapatnam Port will have 4 ports in the first phase with an investment of Rs 3,740 crore. It will handle initially 25 million tonnes within 3 years with plans for phase-wise expansion

Nellore: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy while laying the foundation stone for Ramayapatnam port in Nellore district after the government spiked proposal to develop a port at Dugarajapatnam with the active support from Visakhapatnam Port Authority and the Government of India.

Ramayapatnam Port will have four ports in the first phase with an investment of Rs 3,740 crore. It will handle initially 25 million tonnes within three years with plans for phase-wise expansion.

After performing the bhoomi puja, Reddy announced that the work on three other greenfield ports being developed by AP Maritime Development Board (APMDB) at Bhavanapadu, Machilipatnam and a gateway port at Kakinada will be taken up in next two months. He said the four new ports and nine fishing harbours at Pudimadaka and other places will provide employment opportunities to many.

The State proposed a port at Ramayapatnam after the NITI Aayog asked for exploring alternatives as ISRO raised objections to security to installations at Sriharikota and environmentalists' apprehensions over danger to the safety of migratory birds at Pulicat lake and the Nelapattu bird sanctuary. The Centre had promised support to Dugarajapatnam port in the AP Reorganisation Act. A special purpose vehicle Ramayapatnam Port Development Company is being formed to construct the new port.

Speaking after performing bhoomi puja, the Chief Minister said that there are only six ports in the State since Independence and the YSRCP Government is developing four more ports including Ramayapatnam to boost economic activity, create employment opportunities and propel development in the region. He assured that each port will provide indirect employment to lakhs of people as the government is also setting up nine fishing harbours in addition to Bhavanapadu, Kakinada Gateway Port, Machilipatnam,and Ramayapatnam ports.

He said that Ramayapatnam Port is being taken up with Rs 3,740 crore. "Six more additional berths can be added in the future with Rs 200 crore each for handling over 50 million tonnes," he stated, adding with the construction of four ports 100 million tonnes of cargo handling can be added to the existing capacity of 228 million tonnes at Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram, Krishnapatnam and other existing ports.

Taking a dig at the previous TDP Government, the Chief Minister recalled the foundation ceremony for Ramayapatnam Port performed by then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in February 2019, just two months before the general elections without making any provision for funds.

He stated that Chandrababu did nothing in his five-year rule other than betraying people by laying a foundation without any DPR or land acquisition. Unlike the previous government, he said that the current government procured 850 acres of land for constructing the first phase of the port with Rs.3,740 crore.

On this occasion, the Chief Minister thanked the people of villages Mondivaripalem, Avulavaripalem, Karlapalem, Ravuru, Chevuru, and Salipeta for giving their lands to the port and later distributed R&R pattas to the displaced families. He sanctioned development works in the Kandukur constituency, which includes Rs.25 crore for a bypass road for Kandukur at a stretch of 6.2 km, and Rs.27 crore for the construction of a left bank canal for the Rallapadu Project.

Ministers Kakani Govardhan Reddy, Gudivada Amarnath, Ambati Rambabu, MP Prabhakar Reddy, MLAs M Mahidhar Reddy, R Pratap Kumar Reddy, and other officials were present.