Rajya Sabha Member G.V.L. Narasimha Rao has said that he is making efforts to bring seaplane services to the cruise terminal, to be constructed at Visakhapatnam Port.
Mr. Narasimha Rao, accompanied by BJP Visakhapatnam Parliament District president Raveendra Medapati and other leaders of the party, visited the area identified for construction of the Cruise Terminal at Visakhapatnam Port here on Thursday.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Narasimha Rao said that the construction of the terminal would be completed by April 2023. The terminal would mainly serve the needs of cruise liners coming from India and abroad as part of tourism-promotion plan.
The BJP leader said that he had written to the Centre to consider operation of seaplane services from the terminal, and Union Minister of Shipping Sarbananda Sonowal has agreed to his proposal. “I had also made efforts in the past on operation of seaplane services from Visakhapatnam under UDAAN scheme by taking up the issue with the Union Minister of Civil Aviation,” he said.
“Already one seaplane terminal is coming up near Vijayawada on River Krishna, and now we are proposing for one at Visakhapatnam. It will add up to the other tourist features in Visakhapatnam,” he said.
He said that the terminal would have tremendous demand for seaplane services. Visakhapatnam Port Authority Chairman K. Rama Mohana Rao had told him that arrangements would be made for landing of the seaplanes near the cruise terminal.
Mr. Narasimha Rao said that it would take quite sometime for full-fledged operations from the cruise terminal. He also pointed out that the cruise terminal will be an ultra-modern terminal and will be first of its kind in the entire country.
Mr. Narasimha Rao also reviewed with various stakeholders on the construction of a modern fishing harbour in Visakahapatnm. The DPR for the project worth around ₹160 crore is under preparation and the construction may start sometime in August this year and will be completed by the end of next year.
He also held a review meeting with various banks and financial institutions and urged them to fund the eligible beneficiaries without any delay. In the next few months, there will be a huge infuse of credit in the account of the beneficiaries, he said.
