May 23, 2008

Move for setting up a Monitoring Committee for Machilipatnam Port

May 18, 2008

East coast abuzz with activity



16 May 2008
HYDERABAD: The East coast is buzzing with activity now. With the state government focusing on ports as another major infrastructure that can be developed jointly with private players, five ports are in the process of becoming major business hubs.

The five ports - Krishnapatnam, Gangavaram, Vodarevu, Machilipatnam and Nizampatnam - are expected to provide an unprecedented logistic support to the industrial sector in the state, particularly in locations like Nellore that are now bursting with activity.

"More ports need to come up. The concept of Way Ports that are very close to each other make transportation of goods easy for the entire country," Capt P V K Mohan, chairman of the high-powered committee on ports, told TOI. According to him, once the ports get ready, transportation of heavy goods like steel and cement would shift to sea, leaving national highways for lighter products like FMCG goods and electronics.

Two of the five ports - Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam - are at an advanced stage of construction and would be ready for operations shortly. While a consortium led by former VisualSoft promoter D V S Raju is developing theGangavaram port with an outlay of Rs 3,500 crore, infrastructure major Navayuga group is developing the Krishnapatnam port. Incidentally, like the now operational GMR-led Hyderabad international airport, the two ports too were conceived during the TDP regime. "Along with these two projects, the other three too are progressing as per schedule. Smaller ports on the East coast like Rawa, Bheemunipatnam, Kalingapatnam and Bhavanapadu would add to the series of ports we are planning," a senior official in the government said.

A consortium led by Maytas Infra has been awarded the Machilipatnam port project while another consortium with N Prasad, former chief of pharma major Matrix, has taken up works at Nizampatnam and Vodarevu. "These are much bigger projects than an international airport. However, since they cater to the industry and not to a common man, they do not have the kind of glamour an airport has," the official explained.

The industry, meanwhile, is waiting for the ports to become operational to cut down on the cost of raw material transportation. For instance, Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) alone is expected to save about Rs 150 crore on transportation of raw material once the Gangavarm Port becomes operational. In fact, a dedicated conveyor belt is being laid from the port to the VSP site for transporting raw material.

"Every port has something interesting to offer. Several units that depend on Chennai port have problems in plying lorries through the villages en route since the villagers tend to resist and stop the vehicles. Krishnapatnam port will not have that problem," the official said.



May 10, 2008

Jewellary Park near Machilipatnam


A rolled gold jewellery park will come up at Pothepalli near Machilipatnam. Nearly 250 units will be established in the park proposed to be developed in 42 acres. Laying of roads, levelling of site and construction of compound wall are in progress.

The park is being established by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) and industries minister J. Geeta Reddy will lay foundation stone for the park on December 16. Minister for rural water supply P. Venkateswara Rao, MP B. Ramakrishna, besides district officials, will participate in the function.

The project will be completed in 18 months and the land was allotted adjacent to Autonagar in Machilipatnam. Tenders for the laying of the road at an estimated cost of Rs 1.5 crore were invited, while Rs 2.40 crore have been allocated for power lines and other equipment and Rs. 1.45 crore for drinking water facility. An amount of Rs 5 crore were allocated for internal roads and development of other amenities at the park.

Machilipatnam and its surrounding areas are popular for the rolled gold industry where hundreds of families get livelihood through the industry and the government was keen on supporting the artisans by providing all facilities. The park is aimed at supporting the artisans to produce articles in a big way. The articles are in good demand and will be marketed in other States.

Also, there was a demand for shifting of the rolled gold manufacturing units from the habitations as they were causing air and water pollution due to the chemicals used in gold and nickel coating of ornaments. The pollution is causing inconvenience and illness to locals.

The proposal to shift the industry to the outskirts was pending since 1980 and the Machilipatnam Imitation Jewellery Park Society was set up to realise the park. Local MLA P. Venkataramaiah visited the site on Saturday night during his stay at a social welfare hostel in Pothepalli. District collector Navin Mittal said that works of the rolled gold jewellery park were expedited with a view to provide a suitable and encouraging atmosphere to the artisans.

Top Firms in Race for Hyderabad to Machilipatnam NH9 project


Hyderabad, May 4: Construction majors such as GMR, L&T, Nagarjuna and Reliance Constructions are vying to grab the lucrative National Highway 9 expansion contract. The Centre had cleared the NH9 expansion project as part of the National Highway Development Programme phase-3 on Build-Operate-Transfer basis. Besides the Hyderabad-Vijayawada stretch, the Vijayawada-Machilipatnam stretch was also included in the programme to ensure connectivity to the upcoming Bandar Port.

Sources said the National Highways Authority of India is currently scrutinising the pre-qualification bids for the Rs 1,600-crore project and the process would be completed by the month-end. In all, 19 bidders have applied for the pre-qualification process for the Vijayawada-Hyderabad stretch (181-km) and 21 for the Vijayawada-Machilipatnam portion (64-km).

NHAI sources said the financial bids are expected to be finalised by the end of May and the agreement with the successful bidder will be signed in June. The successful bidder would be chosen on the basis of the company’s turnover, financial capacity, work experience and network, said the sources. Meanwhile, the state government has initiated the process of acquiring about 1,200 acres of land in Nalgonda and Krishna districts for the expansion of the Vijayawada-Hyderabad NH9. Besides, another 450 acres has to be acquired for the expansion of NH9 stretch between Vijayawada and Machilipatnam.

The Union Transport Secretary, Mr Brahma Dutt, visited Hyderabad recently and reviewed the project with the Transport Department principal secretary, Tishya Chatterjee, and other senior officials. He wanted the land acquisition process completed well in time so that the expansion works would not be hampered. There are 66 villages between Vijayawada and Hyderabad through which the NH9 passes and where land has to be acquired.

Revenue authorities in Nalgonda and Krishna districts completed the basic survey of land in 61 villages while the remaining steps are expected to be completed soon. "A formal notification for acquiring 1,200 acres of land will be issued soon after the survey work is completed," said a NHAI official overseeing the project. The NHAI has decided to build by-pass routes to prevent destruction of some villages on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad stretch.

Courtesy : Deccan.com