Industrial corridor between two ports

>> The total investment to be Rs.16,800 crore

>> It will be developed on a public-private partnership basis

>> Ancillary units to be developed to sustain the activity

GUNTUR: The ball has been set rolling for establishing an industrial corridor between Nizampatnam and Vodarevu ports. The State Government recently inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a United Arab Emirates- based RAK-Investment Authority and Matrix Export Private Limited to develop the corridor on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis and develop the Nizampatnam and Vodarevu ports at a stretch of 26 k.m.

The total investment in the project is expected to be Rs.16,800 crore and the scheduled period for the completion of project is six years.

Job opportunities
Sharing the details of the project, Minister for Infrastructure, Ports, and Airports Mopidevi Venkata Ramana Rao told reporters here on Thursday that the proposed corridor would have thermal and 2,100 M.W. gas-based power plants besides creating enormous employment opportunities. The Detailed Project Reports (DPR) of the project is under preparation, he said.

Land acquisition
“The industrial corridor will change the face of the backward coastal regions and trigger massive industrial growth,” the Minister said.

The State Government has already identified 10,000 acres to be acquired for the purpose, out of which 2,000 acres is already in the possession of the Government, while the remaining 8,000 acres will be acquired from private land holders. On the feasibility of operation and maintenance of such large ports, the Minister pointed out that development of ancillary units to sustain the activity at the ports would be the vital feature of the industrial corridor.

Good demand
There has been a heavy demand from the granite industries in Prakasam district and the exporters of cotton, chillies and tobacco in Guntur district.

The Minister also thanked the Chief Minister for raising the ceiling on insurance paid to fishermen from Rs.50,000 to Rs.2 lakh and for taking the decision to settle all the 270 pending cases. The Rs. 40 crore loans availed from cooperative societies too had been waived off by the Government, he added.