Andhra Pradesh aims to double cargo handling capacity of ‘Other Than Major Ports’

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The south breakwater of the Machilipatnam seaport which is under construction. | Photo Credit: K.V.S. Giri

The Andhra Pradesh government’s focus on the construction of four greenfield seaports at Ramayapatnam (Prakasam district), Mulapeta (Srikakulam), Machilipatnam, and Kakinada is driven by its ambition to double the cargo currently handled by the ‘Other Than Major Ports’ (OTMP) to 200 Million Tons Per Annum (MTPA) in the next few years. The existing OTMPs are currently handling 100 MTPA, which is equal to about the 100 MTPA throughput of the State’s only major port in Visakhapatnam alone. 

According to official sources, OTMPs account for almost 50% of the cargo handled in India, of which the share of Andhra Pradesh’s ports is 16%. This has placed Andhra Pradesh in the second position after Gujarat.

Of the four OTMPs under construction in Andhra Pradesh, three (Ramayapatnam, Mulapeta and Machilipatnam) are ‘State ports’ and the Kakinada gateway port is a multi-cargo facility being built in the Kakinada Special Economic Zone by Aurobindo Group under the PPP mode. 

The government aims to make these four OTMPs operational by the end of 2027. Of them, the Ramayapatnam and Kakinada (gateway) ports are in advanced stages of construction. The Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board has recently issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to finalise the operator for Ramayapatnam port. It is likely to be done by October-end. Construction of the Machilipatnam port by Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) is also going at a brisk pace. 

While creating the port infrastructure, the government laid due emphasis on providing rail and road connectivity to all the seaports in the State to make the State the maritime gateway for the east coast. 

The basic objective is to enable them to cater to industries or businesses in Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Odisha and Maharashtra.

By developing the string of OTMPs, the Andhra Pradesh government intends to meet a substantial chunk of the container cargo handling for which there is huge demand.

Between Haldia in West Bengal and Visakhapatnam and Chennai ports, there is a big demand-supply mismatch in the container cargo business, which the government aspired to bridge.

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