The Ministries of Power and Shipping are exploring various options to go ahead with the proposal to construct a captive jetty in collaboration with the Visakhapatnam Port Trust at Pudimadaka to meet the coal handling requirement of Greenfield power plant being set up by the NTPC in the area.
“The Centre is seriously considering the project. Once all the clearances from the State authorities and others are obtained, we will finalise the blueprint for developing a captive jetty,” NTPC-Pudimadaka Group General Manager P.S. Radhakrishnan told The Hindu .
The VPT, which is on expansion mode to increase the capacity from 85 to 125 million tonne in the next couple of years through massive investments on build, operate and transfer (BOT) route, has already expressed its keenness to develop the captive jetty.
“Our stand is very clear. We have the expertise. If we get the required clearances, we will certainly go ahead with the project,” a senior official of the VPT said. Visakhaptnam Port’s offer to develop Bhavanapadu port in Srikakulam district was earlier rejected by the State government after which expression of interest was sought from private investors. Public hearing for the 1,000x4 mega watt Pudimadaka Ultra Super Critical Power Plant was held in August last year. This is the single largest investment in the State post-bifurcation. The management is awaiting coal linkage from the Ministry of Coal to source domestic coal to start work on the project with a total investment of Rs. 26,500 crore at Pudimadaka, about 60 km from here.
The Pudimadaka power plant will require a domestic coal of 15 to 16 million tonne per annum. The project is being redesigned after the Centre’s decision to not to operate it with 100 per cent imported coal, an estimated 13.7 million tonne to achieve a plant load factor of 90 per cent. Visakhapatnam already has a major port as well as a minor port (Gangavaram port). If the captive jetty at Pudimadaka becomes a reality, the district will become home to three ports. The area stands to benefit immensely with the work in progress for developing the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor.
Sources said clearance from the Navy and the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, is required for the captive jetty project as it is in close proximity to Naval Alternate Operations Base (NAOB), which will become parking place for nuclear powered Arihant Submarines and a unit of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
Once all the clearances from the State authorities and others are obtained, we will finalise the blueprint for developing a captive jetty
P.S. Radhakrishnan
NTPC-Pudimadaka Group General Manager
The plant will require a domestic coal of 15 to 16 million tonne per annum.
