Visakhapatnam Port handled 60 million tonnes of cargo in 2023, sets sights on becoming fully solar-powered soon

VPA handled 60 million tonnes of cargo in 2023, aiming to reach 80 million tonnes by 2023-24. Cruise terminal to go operational soon, with plans to explore Southeast Asian countries. VPA to become landlord port by 2030.

Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) handled nearly 60 million tonnes of cargo, as of December 31, 2023.

Speaking to the media here on Wednesday, VPA Chairman M. Angamuthu said that by the end of the 2023-24 financial year, the figure would have crossed 80 million tonnes, which will be the highest so far.

“Cargo handling has gone up by about 9 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year and the pre-berthing detention period has reduced by about 68%. The turnaround time has also reduced by about 11% and idle time at berth has reduced by 12%. VPA has also improved its container business by about 42%.

Mr. Angamuthu said that the international cruise terminal in Visakhapatnam, which has been completed with the support of the Union Government, will go operational soon.

“We are in talks with a couple of cruise liners and very soon, the circuit between Vizag, Chennai and Colombo will start. We are also looking at exploring Southeast Asian countries and linking it up to Kolkata port,” he said.

“We are already in talks with Littoral Cruises Limited and have signed an MoU for the Chennai-Singapore route via Visakhapatnam. Littoral also plans to run cruise services connecting India, Sri Lanka and Maldives with an investment of ₹1,200 crore,” Mr. Angamuthu said.

The chairman added that by 2030, VPA will fully transform into a landlord port. The port is going for an asset-light model by offering three projects on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model for mechanisation of berths.