Visakhapatnam Port eyes ‘clean cargo’
- Visakhapatnam Port intends to minimise cargo that impacts the air quality of Visakhapatnam
- Shifting from its reliance on traditional bulk cargo, the port focuses on diversifying its cargo compositions
- With an already existing 10 MW solar power plant, the port plans to reach 30-MW of renewable energy next
Visakhapatnam: Following an incremental rise of petroleum products in cargo composition summing up to a 25 percent jump, the 92-year-old Visakhapatnam Port has laid out an action plan for a Rs.3,000 crore-project with a special emphasis on ‘clean cargo’.
Shifting from its reliance on traditional bulk cargo, Visakhapatnam Port focuses on diversifying its compositions towards much cleaner and more varied cargo.
Although petroleum products are generally handled in the harbour through direct pipelines to refineries or users, Visakhapatnam Port intends to minimise cargo that impacts Visakhapatnam’s air quality and replace it with cargo handled at the port level through pipelines. “Going forward, petrol, project-based cargoes, chemicals and aluminol will be concentrated more. The idea is to substantially reduce coal handling,” informs M Angamuthu, chairperson of Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA).
Elaborating on the Rs.3,000 crore-project, the port chairperson says, “The project includes investment in railway infrastructure, road expansion works stretching along Fishing Harbour-Convent Junction-Sheelanagar-Sabbavaram with an estimated cost of Rs.1,100 crore, end-to-end logistics support, a conveyor system for tough cargoes and so on.” Despite hiccups experienced last year, VPA has bounced back with renewed vigour by crossing 91-plus percent Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) of cargo throughput, exceeding its set target of 87 MMT in 2025-26.
With enormous support trickling in from the government of Andhra Pradesh, in addition to contributions made by ancillary institutions such as railways, customs and oil companies, the port chairperson exuded confidence that VPA is set to witness ‘organic’ growth in the coming years. Developing a massive shipbuilding and repair cluster at Durgarajapatnam in collaboration with the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board and increasing its current 10-MW renewable power capacities to 30-MW, the VPA chairperson conveys that Visakhapatnam Port is not just focusing on grounding a host of projects in the pipeline but also according equal importance to ‘clean cargo’.
