Information and Public Relations Minister Perni Nani on Monday said a fresh Detailed Project Report (DPR) for development of a greenfield port at Machilipatnam would be submitted to the State government by RITES by December end.
RITES, a government of India enterprise under the Indian Railways, has been entrusted with the task of preparing the fresh DPR for the Machilipatnam seaport by the Infrastructure Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited (INCAP) in October.
In August, the State government had scrapped the agreement signed with the Navayuga group for developing the port.
Addressing the gathering at the Jawaharlal Nehru Science, Mathematics and Environment Exhibition at Pedana near here, Mr. Nani said that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had asked RITES to submit the DPR in December itself, as against the actual schedule of January 2020.
“A fresh DPR is being prepared by RITES documenting the construction technology and the existing designs of the technical facilities to enable the State government to raise finances from banks,” he told The Hindu. The State government itself would develop the port, he added.
According to an official release by the I&PR Department, Krishna district, Mr. Nani said that the government was preparing to begin the construction work of the port by early 2020, if everything, including raising finances, went as planned.
“Banks are likely to grant a loan of ₹3,000 crore to ₹4,000 crore for the Machilipatnam port project,” said Mr. Nani.
