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Andhra Pradesh: Works on Vizag fishing harbour to start in next three months

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The proposed facelift of the existing fishing harbour in Vizag would start in the next three to four months as the tender process would start in the next couple of months. The 45-year-old fishing harbour in the port city lacks many facilities. Now, the facelift works of Rs 150 crore would be taken up under Sagarmala Project.

The facelift works would be completed in 18 months once the bidding process was over. The construction cost would be borne by the ministry of fisheries and animal husbandry under Prime Minister’s Matsya Sampada Yojana, ministry of ports, shipping and waterways, and Visakhapatnam Port Trust Rs 50 crore each. The detailed project report (DPR) was finalized recently. As part of the DPR, there would be cold storages, a mechanical handling facility, an air-conditioned auction hall, and other facilities would be provided.

“The resurfacing of existing jetties in the harbour and three floating jetties would also be set up as part of the facelift works. It would be a world-class fishing harbour,” the Visakhapatnam Port Trust chairman K Ramamohana Rao said.  The present harbour is operational since 1976 with 11 jetties of an extent of 26 acres. More than 700 mechanized boats are operating from the fishing harbour and nearly one lakh people used to visit harbour for purchase on weekends.

The harbour was damaged by cyclone Hudhud and Marnie Products Export Development Authority prepared a DPR in 2016 with an estimation of Rs 100 crore but it has not come into reality.
According to the fisheries department and port sources, around 25 export companies are using the fishing harbour for the purchase of fish and prawns. “There would be a sewage effluent treatment plant, up-gradation of roads, drains, and mechanical dryers for fish drying. dormitory, a restaurant would be constructed,” the chief engineer of the port Venu Prasad said.