Vizag Port Completes Phase 1 Dredging
Visakhapatnam Port has completed first phase of dredging in the Inner Harbor to handle vessels with deadweight tonnage of 60,000 without lightening.
The Port has achieved a 12.5 m draft and 14 m depth in the inner harbor, facilitating the handling of Panamax vessels, says Port Chairman M.T. Krishna Babu.
The dredging was completed in difficult conditions to deepen the channel as it involved rock dredging, first of its kind in the world. The dredging, which involved blasting of rocks between two hills to increase the depth of the entrance channel, would be completed by March 31 with a total investment of $50 million.
Krishna said the second phase of deepening of the entrance channel would be done by April. Post this inner harbor draft will be increased to 16.1 meters and 80,000-100,000-tonne capacity large size vessels could berth in the inner harbor.
The port had also embarked on a plan for improvement of old berths to handle bigger vessels. To increase logistic facilities, the port has proposed to develop a multi-model logistic hub on 500 acres at Anakapalle. Krishna Babu said work on the project would commence soon.
