Jagan says Andhra Pradesh will increase its exports' share from 4% to 10%
VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy informed Maritime India Summit 2021 that Andhra Pradesh aims to increase its share in exports from India to 10 per cent from existing four per cent by 2030.
He expressed confidence that the target would be achieved with exports from major world-class port in Visakhapatnam, apart from five functional and 10 notified state ports, which can together handle more than 170 million tonnes of cargo per annum, second only to Gujarat.
The Maritime India Summit was virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday.
The CM pointed out that, 95 per cent of India’s trade by volume and 70 per cent by value is through maritime transport, with ports handling approximately 1.2 billion metric tonnes of cargo in 2019-20 and attributed it to policy reforms like 100 per cent FDI, Make in India, Sagarmala and Bharatmala. He hoped Maritime India Vision 2030 document will become a testament of government commitment to exports through sea routes.
Stressing the importance of the ‘blue economy’ in growth, Jagan Mohan Reddy said it extends much beyond the maritime trade and export-import statistics. The true value of a blue economy can be unlocked only when all allied sectors such as aquaculture, maritime and coastal tourism, chemical and biotechnological exploration, shipbuilding, and other port-led industries; become mature enough to provide sustainable employment and growth opportunities. “The draft of first- National Fishing Policy is an example of several such solid steps taken in that direction.”
The Chief Minister said the AP government had taken up transformative steps to leverage its coastal line of 974 km, the second-longest in India and longest on the eastern coast. He noted that AP was ranked No. 1 in the country in Ease of Doing Business and one of the factors that contributed to this was the state government’s consistent efforts in developing port infrastructure, support ecosystem, and encouraging port-led industrialisation.
Jagan Mohan Reddy said that in recent times, several industrial nodes have come up in AP, with ports as the focal point for development. The state government has undertaken development of three greenfield ports at Ramayapatnam, Machilipatnam and Bhavanapadu on an innovative model that mitigates all risks associated with development of greenfield ports.
These all-weather, deep-drafted ports are all set to be operational by 2023, creating an additional capacity of at least 100 million tonnes of cargo per annum in the short term, with a potential to grow by leaps and bounds in the long term
The CM said the state government, with support of government of India, established an aqua university to promote skilling, undertook development of eight fishing harbours, and established testing labs and cold chain facilities to provide better ecosystem for aquaculture. This has led to increase in its share of aqua-related cargo from the state’s ports, he pointed out.
