: Andhra Pradesh cabinet on Friday cleared the proposals for development of two major ports at Ramayapatnam and Machilipatnam in Prakasam and Krishna districts.
Both the ports would require a sum of Rs 21,933 crore for development, top official sources said.
The cabinet, which met at the Secretariat here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, approved the detailed project reports (DPRs) prepared by RITES for the two ports.
Also, the cabinet cleared the proposal for creation of two special purpose vehicles for the development of these ports.
The state government selected Ramayapatnam for developing a new deep water port in lieu of the Dugarajapatnam port, proposed under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, after the latter was found unviable.
Accordingly, a DPR has been prepared for this and it estimated the project cost to be Rs 10,009 crore in three phases.
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As per the DPR, the port would have 16 berths with a total handling capacity of 138.
54 million tonnes per annum.
An extent of 3,634 acre of land is required for the port, of which 3,093 acre has to be acquired.
The state government will develop this port with financial assistance from the Centre, Industries and Commerce Department Principal Secretary Rajat Bhargava told PTI.
The state government is fully committed to the development of the port sector to give a thrust to economic growth in the coastal region and create jobs as well. These two major ports would drive that growth by improving maritime trade, Bhargava said.
The government authorities said they hope to achieve the crucial financial closure for these projects within six months.
The SPVs would borrow required funds from financial institutions for the two ports.
The long-pending Machilipatnam port development would cost Rs 11,924 crore, according to the DPR.
It would be a shallow water port with 26 berths when it is fully completed in six phases.
The state government had in August this year cancelled the Machilipatnam port development project previously awarded to Navayuga consortium after it failed to make any progress.
The High Court gave the go-ahead to the state government after Navayuga challenged the cancellation.
With the line clear, the government has now decided to develop the Machilipatnam port that could be a boon to the fisheries sector and also agro-based industries in the region.