ASIA

Dugarajapatnam port plans shelved

8 years ago

Plans to construct a new port at Dugarajapatnam in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh have been abandoned by the country’s government.

A spokesperson for India’s Ministry of Shipping cited strong competition from nearby ports (image is of the state of Andhra Pradesh)

According to The Hindu Business Line, a spokesperson for India’s Ministry of Shipping said that strong competition from the nearby ports of Chennai, Krishnapatnam and Ennore meant that the initiative would not be viable.

They added that the Ministry of Shipping had asked Andhra Pradesh’s government to “furnish its comments” on the National Institution for Transforming India’s (NITI Aayog) recommendations and suggest an alternative location(s) on which to develop a major port in the state.

According to the spokesperson, Andhra Pradesh’s government has not yet suggested any alternative site.

The conclusion on developing a new port at Dugarajapatnam was reportedly made through examination of the concept by the Ministry of Shipping, India’s Ministry of Finance, Andhra Pradesh’s government and NITI Aayog.

The decision on the proposed port came just days after India’s Telugu Desam Party, a regional political party operating in Andhra Pradesh, left India’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government after special category status for Andhra Pradesh failed to gain approval.

Construction of a new Dugarajapatnam port was given the green light under Manmohan Singh’s United Progressive Alliance government in 2013 as part of a plan to boost port capacity, with the new facility set to be an Indian government-owned major port whereby the national administration would hold a 74% stake, through Visakhapatnam Port Trust, and Andhra Pradesh would hold the remaining 26% share.

The state had recommended its Prakasam district village of Ramayapatnam as the new port’s site after the Indian Space Research Organisation expressed fears about developing a new dock at Dugarajapatnam due to its proximity to the state’s Sriharikota island’s satellite-launching centre.

Additionally, India’s Ministry of Shipping had suggested Dugarajapatnam and Ramayapatnam to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), the body who approved construction of the Dugarajapatnam facility, for a final call, with the CCEA choosing Dugarajapatnam due to adequate land being available to set up the port.