‘Vizag has a vast potential to become a transhipment hub’

There is a need to draft zone-wise development plans for port-based industrial activity, says J.M. Baxi Group executive director. With a vast hinterland of 700 km covering eight States, including newly-carved out Telangana and extending up to North and North East India, had the scope to become a major investment destination.

The proposed tax holiday for 10 years, a slew of incentives under special category State status and development of an industrial corridor from Visakhapatnam to Chennai on the lines of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project will make the city a transhipment hub, according to J.M. Baxi Group executive director Capt. Sriram Ravi Chander.

In an exclusive interview to The Hindu, he said the city with a vast hinterland of 700 km covering eight States, including newly-carved out Telangana and extending up to North and North East India, had the scope to become a major investment destination.

Rosy picture

Painting a rosy picture about its future, Capt. Ravi Chander, who is also the CEO of Visakha Container Terminal which launched its operations on June 26, 2003, said Visakhapatnam had all the prerequisites to be developed like Shanghai, Rotterdam, Singapore and Jebel Ali (near Dubai).

Mooting time-bound short-term and long-term zone-wise development plans post-bifurcation for development of port-based industrial activity with the support infrastructure like warehousing, connectivity and ancillary units, he said the governments at Centre and in the State should finalise policy initiatives in consultation with stakeholders.

“I am confident of Visakhapatnam emerging as a hub port on the East Coast making it the gateway for South East and South-East Asia. We have the right combination in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is known for his success for port-centric development in Gujarat, and AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, a good learner, who is credited with developing Cyberabad in Hyderabad,” he said.

The days of policy paralysis syndrome were over. “Freight and industrial corridors should be developed with a proactive land acquisition and rehabilitation policy by making land-losers equity-holders in the new projects,” he stated.

Capt. Ravi Chander wanted task forces set up to execute action plans to achieve the desired objectives and mentioned how CII was in talks with Boston Consulting Group to prepare a vision for developing Visakhapatnam.