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In a fresh move that is bound to soothe hurt feelings in Nellore district, the BJP-led NDA government has evinced keen interest in reviving the Dugarajapatnam Port proposal.
The project, approved by the UPA-II government in 2013, was in dormant stage. As the Dugarajapatnam port project figures in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, the Centre wants that it be implemented in a time-bound manner. “The Ministry of Shipping is preparing a note for placing it before the Union Cabinet,” Visakhapatnam Port Trust Chairman M.T. Krishna Babu said.
At present, Mr. Krishna Babu said, the plan was to develop the port with a capacity of 7.8 million tonnes by 2020 and expand the capacity to 10.7 million tonnes by 2025 and 20 million tonnes by 2035.
As per the revised proposal, the Centre will give 40 per cent of cost as viability gap refunding and allocate funds to the tune of Rs.720 crore for four-lane connectivity with the highway and Rs.310 crore for rail linkage.
Greenfield project
The project will need further expenditure towards acquiring about 300 to 400 acres and reclamation. Rail India Technical & Economic Services (RITES) had recommended development of a major port with a capacity of 150.40 million tonnes with an estimated investment of Rs.17,615 crore in two phases. VPT is the major equity partner in the Greenfield port project.
As part of Maritime Agenda-2020, the UPA-II Government had approved establishing two major ports with Central funds at Sagar in West Bengal and one in Andhra Pradesh.
Dugarajapatnam was selected by a high-power committee after studying the suitability of Nakkapalli in Visakhapatnam and Ramayapatnam in Prakasam district.
The Ministry of Shipping had asked AECOM and McKinsey to revisit the techno-economic feasibility report (TEFR). They found the projections made by RITES ‘unrealistic.’ Even Ernst and Young, consultant for VPT, had also found that the cargo projections made in the RITES report were not convincing.
Ramayapatnam is located close to Chennai, Ennore, Katupalli and Krishnapatnam ports, Pulicat Lake and the Sriharikota satellite launch station.
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