Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said that ‘improving transportation’ is an effective way of ‘transformation in the country’, which is in tune with visions such as Maritime India Vision (MIV)-2030 and Amrit Kaal 2047, set by the Union Government. A target of nine lakh port-bound tourist arrivals is set for various ports, including the Visakhapatnam Port by 2030 as per the MIV, he added.
Mr. Sonowal inaugurated VICT (Visakhapatnam International Cruise Terminal) and three other major projects at the Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) in Visakhapatnam on September 4.
The Monday’s inauguration of Visakhapatnam International Cruise Terminal is one of the major infrastructure enhancement measures taken by the Ministry of Ports under the guidelines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to achieve the Ministry’s goals, he added.
Addressing the gathering at the newly launched VICT lounge, Mr. Sonowal said that the four projects will definitely give a boost to Visakhapatnam and Andhra Pradesh. The city would further be developed with the increasing flow of international tourists through the cruise terminals. This is called “transformation through transportation,” the Minister added.
Mr. Sonowal further said that Union Government has taken up 802 Sagaramala projects across the country with a cost of ₹5.60 lakh crore. Of these, Andhra Pradesh alone has 113 projects worth around ₹1.23 lakh crore. He said that 36 projects worth ₹32.210 crores have already been completed. All the projects were designed to enhance the existing infrastructure facilities in the ports, he added.
“The cargo handling capacity of all major ports has grown in the last nine years. Cargo handling capacity increased from 871 MTPA in 2014-15 to 1681 MTPA, as per the latest statistics. Apart from this, the country has achieved the fifth most economically developed country in the world from 10th position by the last 10 years ago. The development was made possible with the Sagaramala project introduced by Modi Government in 2015. Without the Sagaramala project, people cannot imagine the development of infrastructure such as the setting up of a cruise terminal in Visakhapatnam,” Mr. Sonowal noted.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Tourism and Ports Shripad Yesso Naik said that apart from the cruise terminal, three projects worth a total of ₹333.56 crore have been launched on the VPA premises on September 4. ‘Covered Storage Shed’ built at a cost of ₹33.80 crore in R-11 area and Truck Parking Terminal (TPT) spread over 20 acres with an investment of ₹36.05 crore etc.
The Andhra Pradesh State IT and Industries Minister Gudivada Amarnath said that the Andhra Pradesh Government will extend its full support to the Centre in all aspects for the development of the State. The inaugurated projects in the VPA will definitely give a big boost to the State, particularly the cruise terminal will certainly be a jewel in the crown for the city by attracting international tourists, boosting the economy and creating employment opportunities, he said.
Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said that the credit for developing Visakhapatnam goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his vision.
Earlier, VPA Chairman Madhaiyan Angamuthu explained about the port projects and the cooperation of the Centre and State Governments for its development.
