Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday launched work on the Rs 5,156 crore Machilipatnam Port in the Krishna district by unveiling a pylon and offering special prayers on the beach. The construction of the port, with an initial cargo capacity of 35 million tonnes, is scheduled to be completed in two years.


Addressing a gathering after launching the port works, the CM said that the capacity of the four-berth deep water port would be increased to 116 million tonnes as the cargo traffic increases gradually.


Taking a dig at the previous TDP government, Reddy accused former CM Chandrababu Naidu of creating legal hurdles for selfish reasons.


"The port project is becoming a reality as the state government has completed land acquisition, finalised the tender process and completed financial closure, besides obtaining all permissions by resolving legal hurdles," Reddy said.


The Andhra CM said the port would help Machilipatnam grow like the developed port cities of Mumbai and Chennai and it would be connected with NH 216 and the Gudivada–Machilipatnam railway line soon.


"Machilipatnam will become the centre for trade, commerce, and industrial growth as Telangana and Chhattisgarh will also use the port, resulting in the growth of ancillary industries that will create employment for lakhs of people over a period of time," the Chief Minister said.


ALSO READ | Light Rainfall, Thunderstorms Predicted Across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh For Next Three Days


"In the next 24 months, you can see big ships anchoring in the Machilipatnam sea waters," he said, thanking the farmers who had given land for the construction of the port. 


He said that the government was building four new sea ports, including the Machilipatnam Port, by spending over Rs 16,000 crore, and 10 fishing harbours and six fish land centres with an expenditure of Rs 3,700 crore, besides six new airports.


He hoped that the Machilipatnam fishing harbour would be completed in the next four months and would help the local fishermen grow financially.


The Chief Minister said 25,000 new jobs would be created at each port. This will also help stop the migration of fishermen to other coastal cities.


(With IANS inputs)