The capacity of the existing ports in Andhra Pradesh and the country should be fully used before embarking on ambitious programmes to build new ports, according to Visakhapatnam port chairman M.T Krishna Babu.

He was speaking at the inaugural of the two-day East Coast Maritime Business summit here on Thursday evening. It was organised by the Hyderabad-based magazine, Maritime Gateway.

He said at present only 60-70 per cent capacity of the ports was being used in the state and the country and therefore consolidation was of the utmost importance. He stressed the importance of cargo evacuation from port and the need for developing an integrated logistics chain.

Coastal shipping and inland waterways were also of great importance, he said.

He spoke about the growing importance of the eastern ports, especially those in Andhra Pradesh, and the ambitious plans of the AP Government to build 14 more new ports. The sagar mala project was intended to develop link the various ports and for hiterland development, he added.

The Visakhapatnam port would also take its capacity to 125 million tonnes from the present 80 million tonnes or so after the completion of ongoing projects.

Manish Jain, Deputy Chairman of the Kolkata port, and Chandra Kumar Ghimire, Consul-General of Nepal, also spoke. Ramprasad, the editor of the magazine, welcomed the gathering.

Published on January 22, 2015