Work on cruise terminal in Vizag to begin soon
The construction of a ‘cruise terminal’ at the Visakhapatnam Port is expected to begin soon with the Navy issuing the NOC recently and the clearance by the AP State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (AP SEIAA) expected by the end of the month. A world-class cruise terminal, proposed nearly two years ago to tap the immense tourism potential of the Visakhapatnam region, could not be started due to a delay in the issuance of mandatory clearances. The original plan was to construct the berth at an estimated cost of ₹55 crore and the cruise terminal building at ₹22 crore, shared equally by the Central Tourism Department and the Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT).
Berth for large vessels
The cruise berth, designed by IIT-Madras, would be 330 metre long and15 metre wide to enable berthing of Panamax vessels, which can accommodate 2,000 to 2,500 passengers. The length of a regular berth is 180 metres. Cruise liners from different countries like Singapore and Sri Lanka, anchoring at ports like Chennai and Goa, can make Vizag a port of call once the terminal is ready. There will be tourism circuit packages and agents will arrange local tours. “The terminal building, which will come up in an area of about 2,000 square metres, will have facilities like passenger gangways, lounge restaurant, entertainment and shopping and customs and immigration. The architectural work has been entrusted to Creative Group, New Delhi,” Port Chairman K. Rammohana Rao told The Hindu.
Cost escalation
“The Ministry of Shipping, Government of India, had accorded in-principle approval for the project for an estimated cost of ₹77 crore. The design consultants, IIT-Madras, and architectural consultants of the terminal building have submitted the revised cost estimate for ₹96.05 crore with the berth cost estimated at ₹64.24 crore and terminal building cost estimated at ₹31.81 crore,” he said. The revised cost has been approved by the Port and the approval of the Economic Advisor, Ministry of Tourism, has been sought for the contribution of an additional ₹9.525 crore. S.V. Enviro Labs and Consultants, Visakhapatnam, has been entrusted with the task of carrying out Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study and to obtain environmental clearance from AP SEIAA. “Once the EIA clearance is obtained, tenders will be called and finalisation may take a couple of months. On commencement of the construction work, the project will take about 15 months for completion,” Mr. Ramamohana Rao added. Source link Read the full article
