Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has announced that he is working to make Andhra Pradesh the ‘Gateway of East Coast’ in the logistics sector in the future. He attended the East Coast Maritime Logistics Summit held at the Novotel Hotel in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday as the chief guest. CM Chandrababu himself organized a round table conference on ‘Shipbuilding and Logistics’.
The second session was held under the auspices of the ‘Global Forum Sustainable Transformation (GFST)’ and about 200 industrial representatives attended. Speaking on the occasion, Chandrababu said that his government’s policy is to have a port for every 50 kilometers in the state.
He said that a connectivity master plan is being prepared for each port. He said that an integrated logistics system is being created by connecting ports, airports, roads and railways. Chandrababu said that the Buckingham Canal between Kakinada and Chennar will be renovated soon.
Stating that there are more than 1,500 kilometers of internal waterways in the state, he said that a port-based economy will be achieved in water transport. He said that there are currently six ports in the state and four more ports are being constructed rapidly.
CM Chadrababu said that there is a demand for the establishment of a logistics university in the state and he will personally talk to industrialist Adani for this. He said that currently 69 million tons of iron ore, 11 million tons of coal and 5.5 million tons of fertilizers are being transported through port cargo in the state.
Except Andhra Pradesh on the east coast, he said that no state has a port with a depth of 18 meters on its coast. He said that Telangana is planning to set up a dry port and that the idea is to transport cargo through Machilipatnam. The Chief Minister said that Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Amaravati areas will be converted to air cargo.
CM Chandrababu said that more international airports are coming up in the state along with Bhogapuram Airport. He said that a total of ten thousand acres of land will be used for the needs of ports in areas like Moolapet, Machilipatnam, Ramayapatnam and Kakinada SEZ. He said that currently 90 percent of bulk cargo is being handled and it will soon be converted to container cargo.
