AP to develop Machilipatnam port: CM

Hyderabad, Apr 2 (UNI) In deference to the wishes of ruling Congress and opposition party leaders, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today decided to develop an ultra-modern port Gilakaladinne near Machilipatnam, even if the new location involved additional cost.

The Government would bear the additional cost following the decision to shift the location from Gogileru, where it would have cost Rs 1,200 crore, Dr Reddy told a press meet here. 'We want to revive the past glory of Machilipatnam,' he said.

An independent agency would be appointed to assess and verify additional costs involved, based on which a committee of senior officers would work out modalities of concluding the concession agreement with the developer Maytas Infra (P) Ltd.

Convinced by the argument of leaders of Krishna district that Machilipatnam, a flourishing port during the British regime, would lose its prominence, the Government decided to change the location even if it involved additional cost.

The state needed to develop more ports, he said, adding that Gujarat had six more ports than Andhra Pradesh.

Asked if a similar gesture would be made in case of the location of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Basara instead of Medak, he said only to compensate the loss of IIT the Government had decided to locate a branch of the prestigious International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) at Basara.

UNI