M.T. Krishnababu has assumed the charge of the Chairman of Visakhapatnam Port Trust.
Having taken over the new assignment, Krishnababu asserted that the port was being developed as a landlord port and many projects worth about Rs.2,500-3,000 crore are in the pipeline and after their completion, the capacity of the port would increase to about 120million tonnes from the current capacity of 80 mt.
Addressing the media, he informed that many of the projects were taken up in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode in keeping with the guidelines laid down by the Government of India. These projects would enable the port to reduce pollution and also to face competition from the private ports.
He said that because of the ongoing projects, cargo handling had suffered to an extent in recent years. He further added that from 2015-16, the port’s performance would gather momentum and it would certainly be one of the top two or three ports in the country.
He further elaborated that the dredging work in the inner harbor was delayed due to its proximity to the city. Once it is completed, then panamax vessels could be handled in the inner harbor too. ” We are mechanizing the handling of the cargo and taking all pollution control measures and therefore pollution would be reduced to the minimum. We will monitor the pollution control measures on a weekly basis and take the requisite steps,” he said.
