VPA proposes to buy 49% stake in Mulapeta Port

VISAKHAPATNAM : Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA), one among top five major ports owned by the Government of India, has come forward to buy 49 per cent equity in the development of a greenfield port at Mulapeta (erstwhile Bhavanapadu Port) in Srikakulam district as part of its business expansion.

A senior official connected with the development said on Wednesday that they have communicated the same to the AP Maritime Board (APMB). There is no response yet to the letter in which the joint venture proposal was made.

Srikakulam district bordering Odisha has coastline of 193 km out of Rs.974-km long coastline in Andhra Pradesh, the second largest in India after Gujarat. The stone for the port was made with the first phase project envisaged at Rs 4,362 crore with private sector involvement with a capacity of 23.53 million tonnes.

The official said the VPA submitted a proposal to the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board stating that it is ready to take a 49 per cent equity stake in the Mulapeta Port. The State Government may not accept the proposal, according to indications.

Sources in the government say they have already achieved the financial closure for the port for which the construction work is now in progress. The same sources said the State Government may involve VPA for operations and maintenance of the port in recognition of its expertise if the terms and conditions are mutually acceptable.

VPA handled little over 80 million tonnes last fiscal and the management has set a target to scale it up to 90 million tonnes during the current fiscal by further improving its techno-economic parameters. Before construction of Gangavaram Port entrusted to DVS Raju-led consortium and its partners, VPA (then known as Visakhapatnam Port Trust) had tried to enter into a joint venture with the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), which owned the land on which the private port was developed under PPP mode (subsequently it was acquired by Adani Group) and the AP Government.

VPA had also explored constructing a satellite port at Mulakedu near Bheemunipatnam, where it owned a large parcel of land including waterfront area.The construction of Mulapeta Port on a landlord model was launched in April, 2023 with plans to make the first phase with four berths operational by October 2025. Meanwhile, the deadline has been extended to April, 2026.