AP govt plans ship-breaking unit

The Andhra Pradesh government is planning to set up a ship-breaking unit at Vodarevu, 10 km off Chirala town in Prakasam district.

State Roads and Buildings Minister B V Subba Reddy said the unit would cater to the needs of the east coast. He said the government has also decided to construct a port at Voderevu.

Reddy said the government would shortly call for global tenders for developing a minor port at Bandar, near Machilipatnam in Krishna district. Earlier, the government received only one proposal, he added.

As for the port near Gangavaram in Visakhaptnam, the minister said the government would receive detailed project reports from international bidders by September 20. So also for the development and expansion of the Kakinada port.

The government proposes to add seven more berths to the Kakinada port which now has three berths. Each of the new berths would cost about Rs 350 million. This would relieve congestion at Visakhaptnam and Madras ports.

Reddy said the government will also lay and strengthen 2,000-km of roads with the Rs 20 billion World Bank aid. Global tenders would soon be called for this ambitious project which will commence early next year, he added.

He said the Overseas Cooperative Economic Fund of Japan would provide aid to develop the Madras-Calcutta national highway in a phased programme. This would be completed by 2005, he added.

The Rs 3.20 billion Chilakaluripet-Vijayawada road-widening project in this sector would be undertaken after finalising tenders, he said.

The other roads being developed with World Bank assistance include Palacole-Tadepalligudem-Aswaraopet-Warangal-Adilabad (611 km) road, Hyderabad-Vijayawada road (202 km), Guntur-Giddalur-Nendlay sector (240 km), and Ooty- Cuddapah-Renugunta-Nayudupet (380 km) and Poothalapattu- Chandragiri-Tirupati-Chennai border (230 km). The projects would be completed by 2001, he added.

The government would repay the World Bank soft loan through toll collection, the minister said.

UNI