HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao on Saturday said the Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour would be modernised with world-class facilities by spending ₹40 crore promised by the Centre.
He disclosed this while laying the foundation stone for a modern fish market at the harbour at a cost of ₹2.75 crore and inaugurating a solar hybrid dry fish storage godown and chilled unit.
Collector Pravin Kumar, Visakha South MLA Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar, Joint Director of Fisheries P. Shankar Rao, mechanised boat owners’ association leaders Ch. Satyanarayana Murthy and P.Ch. Appa Rao and others were present.
For the proposed fish market, ₹82.5 lakh would be granted under the Special Development Package (SDP), ₹1.10 crore by Fisheries Department and ₹75 lakh by Tata Trusts. The market will have 120 stalls with parking space.
The godown and chilled unit built under SDP and a grant of ₹12.5 lakh by the Centre under Blue Revolution Scheme will be a boon to dry fisherwomen.
Centre’s promise
The HRD Minister said Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour, prominent hub for seafood exports and the premier fish production centre in the State, had been promised sanction for the modernisation project under Trade for Infrastructure and Exports Schemes (TIES) by the Union government.
The detailed project report has been prepared by the State Fisheries Department.
