The landscape of Visakhapatnam and its beauty and industrial infrastructure impressed Michael Mullins, Consul General of the US Consulate General, Hyderabad, during his maiden visit to the city after he took charge in September, 2013.
“It’s a wonderful city. We are very impressed with the facilities,” he said, after a visit to the Visakha Container Terminal Private Ltd (VCTPL), Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone and Gangavaram Port on Monday. VCTPL operates the container terminal at Visakhapatnam Port under PPP mode.
Accompanied by political and economic officer Travis Coberly, political and economic associate John Mataya and political and economic specialist Srimali Kari, the team from US Consulate General office went around the facilities for first-hand knowledge on the infrastructure and facilities available in the city.
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After a traditional welcome by VCTPL personnel Mr. Mullins and his team was escorted by the COO Sushil Mulchandani for a presentation about the terminal and growth prospects to make Visakhapatnam a transhipment hub as per Maritime Agenda of the Ministry of Shipping.
The team was explained how they had achieved a Compounded Aggregate Growth Rate of 23 per cent for past five years. VCTPL has set a target to achieve a growth of 15 per cent annually with a huge hinterland of 750 km spread over seven States.
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Mr. Mullins wanted to know about the activities of American companies from the region.
Projects explainedThe team noted the movement of frozen shrimp and the possibility of importing Washington apples via the Visakhapatnam Port. Mr. Mulchandani explained to him on the projects in the pipeline like PCPIR and the investments made in Brandix India Apparel City, Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City, AP Special Economic Zone and Visakhapatnam SEZ.
VCTPL General Manager (HR) B.P.Chinoy, and Manager (Operations) Sudheep Banarjee were present.