Machilipatnam Port

Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh inaugurated the pylon.^[1][2]

The port was originally expected to begin its operations by 2021. Navayuga Engineering Company Limited bagged the project to develop the port on a build-own-operate-transfer basis.^[3]

After the YSR Congress party came into power in Andhra Pradesh state in 2019, the project was handed to RITES and was asked to submit a DPR for the same by December 2019. The works were expected to begin by 2020.^[4]

There is a proposal to develop a mega thermal power plant near Machilipatnam during 11th Five Year Plan. It is proposed to construct of 2 Nos. General cargo berth and 1 OSV berth in Phase 1 Depth of the Channel: 12.80 Mt with ship handled capacity is 65000 DWT and port anticipated handling capacity.^[5]

In May 2023, the former Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the 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 (35 MMTPA), through four berths-three general cargo berths and one coal terminal. In the future, the capacity of the four-berth deep water port will be increased to 116 million tonnes (116 MMTPA) as the cargo traffic increases gradually. The port is scheduled to be completed in two years.^[6]

The work has been awarded to Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL) and the construction is currently under-progress.^[7]