The State government has invited the Adani Ports and SEZ Limited to be part of the project to develop a deep sea port in an extent of 9,200 acres of the sea-front area on the Machilipatnam coast.
In August, the State government had scrapped the agreement signed with the Navayuga group for development of the port and took back 400 acres of land allotted to it for the purpose.
“An extent of 9,200 acres is available for developing an integrated port, which includes a logistics hub. The government has completed its talks with the Adani group,” Machilipatnam Urban Development Authority (MUDA) vice-chairman P. Wilson Babu told The Hindu .
In September, MUDA prepared a report on the availability of land, earmarking nearly 1,000 acres adjacent to the proposed port area for the Integrated Logistics Management Zone (ILMZ).
The ILMS is proposed to be developed by the Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR).
RITES to prepare DPR
“RITES Limited, a Government of India enterprise, has been entrusted with the task of preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the development of the Machilipatnam port as a major port. Nearly 80% of the 9,200 acres of land is now owned by the government, which includes the extent taken back from the Navayuga group,” Mr. Wilson Babu said. “Given the availability of land, the government is chalking out a plan to constitute a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), roping in all the key investors – Adani group, Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) and CONCOR – in making the integrated port a reality,” Mr. Wilson Babu said.
The government is keen on developing the port and the logistics hub only in the seafront area at Tapasipudi and not in 30,000 acres proposed earlier.
The UDA has begun the exercise to fix the boundaries of land purchased by the government and extent owned by it.
