Former Minister Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao on Friday urged Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to locate the central port sanctioned to the State at Ramayapatnam, as Dugarajapatnam was reportedly found to be technically not feasible and economically not viable.
Launching a 230-km two-day ‘vehicle yatra’ to Ramayapatnam from Devarampadu, where freedom fighter Prakasam Pantulu had staged the Salt Satyagaraha during the freedom struggle, he said that the Centre would accept the proposal for a central port at Ramayapatnam as it required no viability gap funding as in the case of Dugarajapatnam, which faced security and environment concerns in view of its proximity to SHAR at Sriharikota and avian paradise of Pulicat Lake.
The State might be having some problems in getting concessions promised at the time of bifurcation. But it would be unwise to delay the execution of the second major port proposal included in the bifurcation Act at a time when the neighbouring Tamil Nadu was actively pursuing its third major port project at Colachel in Kanyakumari district. Flush with funds, the Visakhapatnam Port Trust would be keen to invest in Ramayapatnam, he added.
Land acquisition
He disapproved of the tendency of acquiring more land than required for any industrial project with an ulterior motive to raise funds by mortgaging land.
Prakasam District Development Forum president Ch. Ranga Rao questioned as to why the Exclusive Economic Zone for a private port project had been expanded to 150 km.
