Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) celebrates its 90th Formation Day on October 7. The Chairman of Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) M. Angamuthu congratulated all the officers/employees, trade and stakeholders of VPA on the eve of the formation day, for their contribution in the successful running of the port during the last nine decades.
The construction of the port commenced in 1927 and it was opened to ocean traffic on October 7, 1933, with the arrival of a passenger ship S.S. Jala Durga of Scindia Steam Navigation Company. The Port was formally inaugurated by His Excellency Lord Willingdon, the then Viceroy and Governor General of India, on December 19, 1933.
The Visakhapatnam Port has a vast hinterland and is surrounded by many major industries such as M/s. RINL-Visakhapatnam Steel Plant(VSP), SAIL, NTPC, NALCO, NMDC, MMTC, Hindustan Shipyard, Coromandel Fertilizers, RCL, HPCL etc. The port has been serving the major sectors like steel, power, mining, petroleum and fertilizers.
The Port has achieved self-sufficiency in generating the required energy by commissioning 10 MW utility scale Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant with power generation of about 178 lakh units per annum. Installed 190 KW Solar Power Plant on rooftop space of Golden Jubilee Hospital and other operational buildings. Another 20 MW Solar Power generation is planned in FY 2023-24.
Modernisation and upgradation of fishing harbour at Visakhapatnam port is being taken up under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) with an investment of ₹150 crore and the works are in progress and are excepted to be completed by November 2024.
Visakha Container Terminal (VCT) with quay length of 845 metres and natural depth of 16 m is an ideal gateway for container traffic from states in the country. The container terminal in VPA has shown impressive performance with 38% growth. Two new container liners – PA Maritime & SITC – have started their operations from this terminal
VCT is gradually evolving as a regional transhipment hub in the Bay of Bengal with containers from Kolkata, Haldia, Paradip, Kakinada, Chittagong and Yangon getting transhipped here.
Vizag International Cruise Terminal holds a lot of potential for developing cruise tourism. The State Tourism Ministry is developing tourism with water sports.
The cargo volumes of the port are up by 3%, turnaround time (TRT) improved by 17%, pre-berthing detention reduced by 67%, output per ship berth day (OSBD) improved by 15% and idle time at berth reduced by 4%. Truck parking terminal with world-class facilities to park 666 trucks has been made operational. A covered storage shed to hold 84,000 tonnes of bulk cargo is operational and another storage shed with a capacity to hold 1 lakh tonnes will be ready by November 2023.
As part of modernisation, VPA has awarded mechanisation of three (EQ7,WQ 7&8 ) under PPP with an investment of ₹655 crore. Two more PPP projects with an investment of ₹600 crore shall be awarded by December this year.
VPA is entering into an MoU with M/s HPCL, Visakhapatnam, for setting up of a green hydrogen plant at VPA at an estimated cost of ₹800 crore and CNG Bunkering Station with M/s IOC. Additional Oil Jetty OR-3 along with OR-1 & OR-2 at an estimated cost of ₹168 crore with an added capacity of 5.25 MTPA, being developed on EPC mode by Port, will be completed by October, 2024.
With all these developmental activities, smart, sustainable infrastructure developments, the port is striving towards becoming a land lord port by 2030.
