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The Visakhapatnam Port Trust is set to increase cargo handling capacity two folds. The modernisation of the three cargo berths of Visakhapatnam Port Trust will begin in two months and will increase the handling capacity for the port from 2.5 million tonne (mt) to 4.5 mt. Despite the pandemic, port chairman K Ramamohana Rao claims that cargo operations increased by 9% until August this year compared to the previous year. According to him, thermal coal grew by 125%, steam coal by 65%, containers by 8%, and coking coal by 6%. This year, the VPT was ranked fourth among major ports in terms of cargo handling. To facilitate the handling of multi-cargo such as manganese, coking coal, gypsum, bauxite, and cargos other than iron ore, the modernization of west quay berths 7 and 8 will be undertaken on a PPP basis for Rs 288.47 crore. For Rs 190 crore, East Quay Berth 7 will be fully mechanised and will handle fertiliser and multi-cargo. The construction of roads, drains, and cover sheds are part of a Rs 1,000 crore port modernisation and infrastructure project. The cargo that will be shifted from the ship for which stacker cum reclaimer machines are installed will be stored in a 50-acre staking yard facility. A full-length rail rake will be used to load the cargo. This will enable them to charge lower handling fees than Vedanta and VSPL, allowing the port trust to handle more cargo. The government wants the berth to be referred to the standing finance committee after West Quay MultiPort Private Limited, which was given the west quay 6 berths under PPP, abandoned it. In October, tenders will be called for the construction of covered storage with necessary drains, road, and water supply at Rs 36.38 crore. The road network will be modernised, and a road from Sea Horse Junction to the dockyard will be built as part of it. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will construct an overbridge for Rs 250 crore as part of the project. With Rs 200 crore, fully covered iron ore sheds will be built. Image Source Also read: JNPT registers a y-o-y growth of over 21% in cargo handling in 2021