Sonowal dedicates projects worth Rs216.53 crores to the nation

New Delhi [India], September 4 : The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal dedicated projects worth Rs 216.53 crores to the nation, including the inauguration of world-class state-of-the-art Vizag International Cruise Terminal (VICT) on Monday at Visakhapatnam.
As Per the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways press release, "The Minister also inaugurated covered storage shed-2 in Port area, 1 world-class truck parking terminal as well as 1 oil refinery berth, in an attempt to boost the capacity of the Vizag Port (VPA) towards becoming a regional hub of cruise and cargo traffic in the near future.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal lauded the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the ports of India have been developing to reach the global standard with a focus approach on modernisation, mechanisation and digitisation.
"Our government under the leadership of Modi ji, remains committed to making India the third largest economy in the world by 2030. Our ports-led development approach is an important element to realise this vision and we remain at work to modernise, equip and enable our ports to become a vital lynchpin of the development of the region. Before 2014, this stood at 821 million MT. Today, you will be happy to know that we have increased our cargo movement capacity to 1681 million MT by our 12 major ports today, thereby more than doubling our capacity in a span of just nine years," said Sonowal.
He said that the transformation in transportation could happen only under the visionary leadership of PM Modi.
"Before 2014, it took 44 hours to unload cargo from a ship but this has come down to 26 hours now, enabling so much of possibilities for growth and trade for people and the country,” he added.
He also reiterated that India is committed to developing world-class infrastructure to support and enable the growth of cruise tourism and maritime trade.
“With robust communications gateways via railways, roadways and airways, the revamped marine waterways are likely to add to Visakhapatnam’s potential to become a major hub of cruise tourism and maritime trade," added Sonowal.
He expected that the volume of cruise ships would increase from 208 in 2023 to 500 in 2030 and upto 1,100 by 2047. 
"The number of passengers availing cruise services is also likely to increase from 9.5 lakhs in 2030 to 45 lakhs in 2047. Similarly, economic potential is also expected to increase from Rs 712 Crores in 2016 to Rs 35,500 crores by 2041," said Sonowal.
The Maritime India Vision 2030 roadmap is estimated to create 2,00,000 new jobs, in the Cruise tourism sector.
"That’s the vision of new India that our leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has set for India to become during this Amrit Kaal when India will become a completely developed nation by 2047,” he added.
The newly inaugurated VICT was developed with an investment of Rs 96.05 crores with a grant of Rs 38.50 crores by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. It has a capacity to accommodate 2000 passenger vessels, requiring a draft of 8.1 meters. The Port has started construction of 4 numbers of covered storage sheds to store bulk cargo with a capacity of 2,94,000 MT at a cost of Rs 116.04 crores.
The newly inaugurated covered storage shed in R1 area was built at an investment of Rs 33.80 crores. This shed, with a capacity to store 84,000 tonnes of cargo, has a mist arrangement for dust suppression to reduce dust pollution. Revamping of oil refinery I, II & III Berths is going on with an investment of Rs 167.66 cr to handle 14.5 m draft or 85,000 DWT vessels, added the release.
The oil refinery 1 berth - with a length of 243 Mt and constructed at a cost of Rs 50.63 cr - was inaugurated by Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today. This will enhance capacity addition by 3.81 MMT.
The world-class Truck Parking Terminal - spread over an area of 20 acres of port land - was developed with an investment of Rs 36.05 crores. It will increase parking space for port-bound vehicles providing seamless movement of trucks. The Terminal can accommodate 666 vehicles. It also has a 100-bed dormitory, shops, ATM, fuel station, weigh bridge of 100 tonnes capacity, workshop and servicing stations and other facilities for the staff operating the trucks, added the release.
Moreover, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, 113 projects worth more than Rs 1.23 lakh crores have been identified under the Sagarmala Programme. Out of the total projects, 36 projects worth Rs 32,210 cr have been completed and 50 projects worth Rs 73,500 cr are under implementation and 27 projects worth Rs 17,700 cr are in various stages of development.
The Vishakhapatnam Fishing Harbour is one of the first five major fishing harbours that will be developed as “Hubs of Economic Activity”. It will provide a clean, decongested and hygienic modern ecosystem for fishing activities.
Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Government of India is financially supporting the modernisation and upgradation of Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour project with a total project cost of Rs 151 cr and Sagarmala Grant in Aid of Rs 50 cr for the upliftment of the fishermen community.
The development of the Fishing Harbour in Juvvaladinne in SPSR Nellore District has been taken up with financial assistance under Sagarmala. The project cost is Rs 288 cr and it is expected to be completed by October 2023. About 25,000 fishermen families will be benefitted, added the release.