Following the recent Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approval for development of the Bhavanapadu port and the detailed project report prepared by RITES, the Government is now focussing on land acquisition and fund raising ₹3,669.95 crore project.

The port is in Srikakulam District.

While the DPR prepared for the development of Ramayapatnam Port, in Prakasham District was already approved and administrative sanction accorded, the RITES draft DPR for Bhavanapadu was approved in the recent Cabinet meet. TATA Consulting Engineers was selected for rendering Project Management Consultancy Services for development of Bhavanapadu Port.

Under the phase I, the project will have three general cargo berths and one bulk cargo berth and infrastructure spread over 500 acres to be completed within 36 months. While the estimated cost is ₹3,669.95 in phase one, including the cost of land ₹261 crore supported by the State for acquiring 500 acres land, the Government has accorded permission to raise debt of ₹2,123 crore with the appropriate support of the State Government. It is proposed to utilise certain portion of its revenue as equity and through an escrow account in future for debt funding/servicing.

With efforts now underway to develop the Visakhapatnam–Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC), the State Government sees immense potential for ports and has charted out plans to develop ports at Kakinada SEZ Port in East Godavari and Machilipatnam Port in Krishna district. The Kakinada SEZ Port has been awarded to GMR SEZ Gateway.

As a part of the overall development of the State, Andhra Pradesh Government is keen on developing these four non-major ports to cater to the increasing demand of various types of bulk and container cargo etc., which is expected to increase to 300-350 million tonnes by 2024-25, as per estimates.

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