Visakhapatnam: After a delay of about six years, Visakhapatnam Container Terminal Pvt Ltd finally received sanction from Visakhapatnam Port Trust for extension of its container handling facility.
VPT chairman M.T. Krishna Babu handed over the work order to VCTPL after a board meeting held on Saturday.
The project, which was conceived in 2012, had been delayed due to various hurdles including environment and wildlife clearance and construction of approach road through fishing harbour.
Indian Ports Association had submitted a feasibility study to extend the existing container terminal at an estimated cost of Rs 633.11 crore.
An agreement was signed between the VPT and JM Baxi Group in 2014.
According to the company, the construction of project would be started immediately and it has to be completed within 24 months. As part of the project, the existing 450-metre berth length would also be extended by another 395 metre to accommodate two ships at a time.
This project would give an extra edge to the growth of the container business from this region.
VCTPL is already serving AP, Telangana, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. With the capacity expansion, it would be able to cater to Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and also Nepal.
VCTPL’s capacity would be enhanced from the existing 7 lakh containers per annum to 13.5 lakh containers giving scope to handle transshipment containers of Bangladesh and Myanmar.
