Visakhapatnam Port Trust Chairman M.T. Krishna Babu on Sunday said faster evacuation of cargo was the pre-requisite to generate demand for more sea-bound traffic. He was speaking at the 52nd National Maritime Day celebrations conducted at the office of Deputy Conservator of VPT on the theme ‘Make in India – an opportunity for maritime sector.’
He said non-availability of rakes was a big bottleneck in Visakhapatnam. “If adequate rakes are made available, there will be no need for ground stock and scope for pollution,” he said.
Mr. Krishna Babu, referring to the proposal to construct 14 new ports in Andhra Pradesh, said new ports would not raise the demand for cargo. Before creating new facilities, the most important requirement was to improve railway and national highway connectivity so as to ensure faster evacuation of cargo from one place to another.
He said under Sagar Mala programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keen on improving connectivity and cargo handling capacity. An Inter-Ministerial Committee had been set up to monitor various issues to implement Sagar Mala.
Tributes to Walchand
HSL Chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral N.K. Mishra recalled how great visionary Walchand Hirachand established the Hindustan Shipyard Limited in Visakhapatnam during World War II. He said the private shipyards instead of showing interest in the construction of warships should venture into manufacturing of merchant vessels and import-substitute components for the shipping industry.
Visakha Container Terminal COO Sushil Mulchandani said under ‘Make in India’ programme, crane manufacturing could be undertaken to bring down its cost by half.
Visakhapatnam Port Deputy Conservator S. Mathur presided. Nautical Surveyor K.R. Sundaram, Head of Survey, Indian Register of Shipping Amit Bhatnagar and others were present.
52nd National Maritime Day celebrated
