Stuck over land issue for the last two years, the Machilipatnam port project is finally set to take off with the state government making an in-principle decision to lease out 4,800 acres to port operators, the Navayuga group. The government arrived at the decision after the Indian Port Association (IPA), a Central government agency, vetted the Detailed Project Report submitted by the port operator and recommended the required land based on traffic projections made up to 2041. This is the first time the Infrastructure and Investment Department has taken up assessment of land requirement through a technical and authentic agency.

Fixing of land requirement in a scientific manner will gain significance in the backdrop of the ongoing war between the bureaucrats and politicians over fixing of responsibility for decisions taken in Public Private Partnership projects. Sources told this newspaper that the IPA had cut short the projected maximum traffic to 160 million tonnes per annum from the 270 metric tonnes, as proposed by the port operator. Accordingly, the land requirement was brought down from 6,262 acres to 4,800 acres. Of this, 300 acres has already been handed over to the operator, it was informed.

The government was also in a dilemma as Navayuga group came under the CBI scanner in Jagan’s assets case. According to sources, new infrastructure minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao also pushed the Machilipatnam project. Meanw-hile, an elated Machilipatnam MLA, Mr Perni Nani, who is heading an all-party committee spearheading agitation for the port, said there is finally light at the end of tunnel. “The government is likely to issue orders in a few days, handing over possession of the land (and) paving way for starting work on the port,” he said.