Andhra To Get Another All-weather Greenfield Port, Work On Rs 5156 crore Machilipatnam Port At Manginapudi Begins Today

Andhra Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy today (May 22) inaugurated the construction work on the Rs 5,156 crore Machilipatnam port at Manginapudi in Krishna district.

A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) —Machilipatnam Port Development Corporation Limited— will execute the project. 

The all-weather, greenfield port secured environmental clearances from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in February 2023. Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board gave the go-ahead for the project in April 2023. Land acquisition of 1,923 acres was completed in March 2023, and the port is planned to be developed on about 1,145 acres.

Power Finance Corporation has approved a loan of Rs 4,500 crore for the project. A detailed project report (DPR) has been prepared and vetted by RITES Ltd.

The greenfield port will be located at Manginapudi. The site was chosen as it was considered 'advantageous' compared to the two other alternatives explored - the existing lighterage port at Gilakaladindi and another location at Goguleru Creek.

The proposed Machilipatnam port will be developed in two phases with a total cargo handling capacity of approximately 116 Million Tons Per Annum (MTPA). It will have four berths in the first phase handling 35 MTPA, and 12 additional berths handling 81 MTPA in the next phase. These berths will cater to coal, general and container cargo. 

Machilipatnam port is among the three port projects that AP Maritime Board (APMB) is currently developing (Ramayapatnam in Nellore and Bhavanpodu in Srikakulam district are the other two non-major ports currently under development).

While the work on Ramayapatnam port commenced in 2022, construction of the greenfield port at Bhavanapadu Village In Srikakulam started in April 2023. Each of the three greenfield ports has a land bank of around 5000 acres.

Four new ports - Ramayapatnam, Bhavanapadu, Kakinada Gateway port and Machilipatnam - are expected to be operational by the end of 2024.

The 974 km long Andhra coastline, the country's second longest, is studded with 16 non-major ports and one Major Port at Visakhapatnam.

Machilipatnam Port is expected to boost exports from the state

The setting up of Machilipatnam Port is expected to boost exports and revenue generation for the state significantly.

Machilipatnam is the base for ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) 's Eastern Offshore Asset. The Krishna Godavari Basin is considered to be the largest natural gas basin in India, and significant discoveries of oil and natural gas were made by ONGC, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation and Reliance, which has been producing around 60 mmscd of gas for the past two years from its prolific KG D6 block off the Kakinada coast.

Guntur district, in the primary hinterland of the proposed Machilipatnam port, is the headquarters of commercial crops in the state.

Agriculture Market Committee Market Yard in the city, the largest chilly yard in Asia, generates an income of up to ₹100 crores (US$14 million) during the trading season. Guntur chillies are exported to foreign countries, and the city stands second in terms of trade, next to Mexico.

Guntur is also widely regarded as the tobacco Capital of the country, where all varieties of tobacco are grown, auctioned and traded. The nearby ports of Chennai and Visakhapatnam handle the tobacco export consignments in Containers as well as bulk. Machilipatnam being nearest to Guntur, the export can be diverted considering distance advantage.

Machilipatnam Port is also expected to cater to exports of fertilizers, coal, cooking oil, containers, agricultural products, cement, granite, cement clinker, and iron ore from districts of Guntur, Krishna, NTR, East and West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh and from Khammam, Karimnagar, Adilabad, Nalgonda and Warangal districts in neighbouring Telangana.

Andhra: Vishwa Samudra Group To Begin Work On Rs 3600 Crore Greenfield Port At Bhavanapadu Village In Srikakulam This Month