Visakhapatnam: Even as the Visakhapatnam Port has turned 90-year plus, it is on the verge of surpassing an “audacious” turnover of 80 million tonnes (MTs) by March 31, 2024.
“The port has already achieved 60 MTs this year-end,” Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA)
Chairman M. Angamuthu disclosed on Wednesday, while outlining a forward-looking plan for the Vizag port that started operations from October 7, 1933.
He highlighted the port’s KPIs, including nine per cent increase in cargo volumes, a 68 per cent reduction in pre-berthing detention, 11 per cent decrease in turnaround time, and 12 per cent reduction in idle time at berth.
Angamuthu declared: "I don’t want to do business for revenue. We want to follow all the norms, not only in quantity but also in increasing quality."
Over the past 90 years, Visakhapatnam port has evolved from its humble origins of three berths and bullock cart cargo transport. Now, it has 31 berths, moves cargo via roads (43 per cent), railways (26 per cent), pipelines (21 per cent) and conveyors (10 per cent). The port has the capacity of handling 137 million tonnes. The revenue has surged to ₹2,300 crore.
Discussing future plans, the VPA chairman said Visakhapatnam Container Terminal is emerging as a regional transhipment hub on the Indian east coast, facilitating transhipment of containers from Kolkata / Haldia, Paradip, Chittagong, and Yangon.
In a global move, the port authority is developing the Visakhapatnam International Cruise Terminal (VICT). It has signed an MoU with Littoral Cruises Limited for Chennai to Singapore via Visakhapatnam cruise, with plans for larger cruise services connecting India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives with a substantial investment of ₹1,200 crore.
The port has embraced an asset-light approach, offering three projects on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. It is aiming to handle 100 per cent of throughput through PPP terminals by 2030, transitioning to a Landlord Model Port.
Angamuthu stated that traffic flow is being streamlined through road-widening projects. The VPA Board has approved ₹35 crore for development of a road from Alluri Sitarama Raju Junction (Seethammadhara) to JW Marriott Hotel, Marripalem, to reduce congestion on the highway and provide infrastructure for the public.
The VPA chairman said environmental sustainability is a priority, with various green initiatives and plans for a solar-powered port.
