Gangavaram Port

Gangavaram Port, located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, is India's deepest port.[1] Inaugurated in July 2009, it has a depth of 21m.[2] It is managed by Gangavaram Port Ltd., a special-purpose company floated by Mr. DVS Raju, who serves as its chairman and managing director. The company is owned by the DVS Raju Group (59%), global Private Equity firm Warburg Pincus (30%) and the Andhra Pradesh Government (11%).

Gangavaram Port
Location
Country India
LocationGangavaram, Visakhapatnam
Coordinates17°37′0″N 83°14′0″E
Details
OpenedJuly 2009
Owned byGangavaram Port Ltd.
Size2,800 acres (11 km2)
Available berths9
Statistics
Annual cargo tonnage18.04 million tonnes(2016-17)
Website
www.Gangavaram.com
Railways around Visakhapatnam
km to Khurda Road-Visakhapatnam section
to Kothavalasa-Kirandul line
24 Kothavalasa
15 Pendurti
8 Simhachalam North
7 Simhachalam
6 Gopalapatnam
NH 16
Marshalling yard on right lines
4 Marripalem / Visakhapatnam Airport
Naval Dockyard
Essar Steel
Iron Ore sidings
9 Kottapalem
Visakhapatnam Port - Inner harbour
0 Visakhapatnam
Hindustan Zinc
BHPV
NH 16
Coromandel International
Visakhapatnam Refinery of HPCL
Visakhapatnam port channel in blue
Visakhapatnam Port - Inner harbour
Hindustan Shipyard Limited
Visakhapatnam Port - Outer harbour
Dolphin's Nose (hill with lighthouse)
Link to Bay of Bengal
Visakhapatnam Steel Plant
Gangavaram Port
17 Duvvada
NH 16
Simhadri STPP of NTPC
27 Thadi
NH 16
33 Anakapalle
to Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada section

History
Gangavaram port view

Construction of the port began in December 2005, and commercial operations commenced in August 2008. The port was formally inaugurated on 12 July 2009, by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

The port is located where Borramma Gedda river joins the sea. Fishermen in the Gangavaram and Dibbapalem villages, who were directly affected by the construction of the port, demanded construction of an alternative jetty at Yarada and a relief and rehabilitation package.[3]

The DVS Raju group invested Rs. 18.50 billion in the development of the port.[1] Gangavaram Port Ltd. has taken a loan of Rs. 11.70 billion from a consortium of 13 banks, including the State Bank of India, to fund the Phase I development.

Comparisons with the Vizag port

The first client of the Gangavaram Port Ltd. is the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd., which runs the Vizag Steel Plant, and earlier used the Visakhapatnam Port.[1] The Gangavaram Port Ltd. plans to build conveyors for taking imported raw materials directly to the Vizag Steel plant, in order to reduce the railway transportation costs.

The Union Government of India, which owns the Visakhapatnam port, had proposed a joint venture between the Visakhapatnam port and the private operator of the Gangavaram port to make sure that the Visakhapatnam port's business remains unaffected. However, this proposal was rejected by the then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu.

DVS Raju, while talking to reporters during the port's inauguration ceremony, insisted that it would be "complementary in nature" to the Visakhapatnam port, and not a competitor.[4]

The Gangavaram port is capable of handling Super Cape size vessels of up to 200,000 DWT. The State Government plans to construct a Rs. 21-crore four-lane flyover to the Gangavaram port.[5]

Cargo handled

The Gangavaram port handled 20.74 million tonnes of cargo during 2014-15 as against 15.81 million tonnes during the previous financial year.[6]

References
  1. "CM inaugurates Gangavaram Port". Business Standardaccessdate=13 July 2009. 13 July 2009.
  2. "CM to inaugurate Gangavaram port". The Hindu Business Line. 11 July 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
  3. "A hill stands between Andhra fishermen, Gangavaram port". The Hindu Business Line. 29 March 2006. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
  4. "Gangavaram port to expand capacity in a phased manner". Highbeam. 12 July 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  5. "Govt to build flyover to Gangavaram port". The Times of India. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
  6. "Gangavaram port handles 20.74 mt of cargo".
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