Centre launches port connectivity project

In its quest to provide hassle-free connectivity to the Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT), the Central government has recently decided to build a major road project to provide connectivity between Ayyappa junction and Sabbavaram in the city at an investment worth Rs. 500-cr and NHAI has been entrusted with the task to complete the project. In this connection, DPR is currently underway and will be ready shortly.

Apart from this, the VPT also bagged two railway connectivity projects under the Union government's flagship Sagarmala programs. It involves elevated corridors in certain stretches ensuring that traffic originating from the port will bypass the city roads and that the port connectivity road will be extended to provide a road from Ayyappa junction to Sabbavaram. The report will be submitted to the Union shipping ministry for funding under the Sagarmala programs for final approval, said official sources, adding that modalities for funding the project will be worked out once the DPR is read. VPT has expanded its capacity to nearly 100 million tons and is expecting a steady increase in cargo traffic in the next four to five years.