Proposal to set up Maritime Board pending with Centre

Kakinada, Apr 5 (UNI) The proposal to constitute a Maritime Board to look after the administration of the minor ports in the state is pending with the Centre for the past two years and efforts are being made to expedite the matter, Ggovernment infrastructure development, investments and ports department, Special Secretary K V Brahmananda Reddy said here today.

Participating as the Chief Guest at the 45th National Maritime Day celebrations at the port administrative office premises, he said, the Government was keen on early materialisation of the Maritime Board and discussions were held at various levels to clarify the queries raised by the Union Ministry of Law.

He hoped that the Centre's clearance would be received within a couple of months.

Pointing out that Kakinada was poised for accelerated development with the port-based industries coming up in and around the city, Mr Reddy said a ship building yard was also likely to come up in the vicinity of the port soon.

He claimed that the Gangavaram port near Visakhapatnam, scheduled for commissioning shortly, would handle 35 million tonnes of cargo and would be one of the modern ports in Asia.

Captain A Diwakar said the age-old anchorage port had put a record by handling 4.3 million tonnes of cargo, both exports and imports, during the fiscal year ended on March 31.

He said the Government had sanctioned Rs 5.5 crore this year for the development of the anchorage port.

Later, the Chief Guest gave awards to the port department staff in recognition of their meritorious services.

UNI XR/SM LS KP2122