Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal dedicated a newly constructed waterfront promenade and laid foundation stones for four development projects with a total value of approximately ₹560 crore at Visakhapatnam Port. The ₹19 crore Port Promenade spans 710 meters (2,330 feet) along the waterfront from Venkateswara Temple to the International Cruise Terminal, covering 5.5 acres of existing port land without affecting cargo operations. The facility includes a waterfront walkway, two view decks (including a Titanic-style viewpoint), a park, public plaza, children's play area, food court, and visitor parking, providing public access to view port operations for the first time.
Minister Sonowal laid foundation stones for three cargo terminal operation and maintenance contracts collectively worth approximately ₹580 crore, covering berths WQ-1, WQ-1RE, WQ-2, WQ-3, and EQ-3. These contracts require operators to mechanize the berths with cranes and conveyors while implementing environmental controls, and are expected to employ approximately 500 local people. The port authority anticipates these projects will secure assured cargo throughput and achieve optimum capacity utilization in these berths.
Additionally, Sonowal laid the foundation for upgrading the port's sewage treatment plant capacity from 10 million liters per day to 15 million liters per day, including construction of a new 5 million-liter plant at an estimated cost of ₹11 crore. The treated water is used for dust suppression, road wetting, and sprinkling at stockpile yards, supporting the ministry's Harit Sagar green port initiative.
The port reported record cargo handling performance, achieving 91.17 million metric tons in the 2025-26 fiscal year, representing approximately 10% year-over-year growth and marking the fourth consecutive year of growth. From April 1 to October 31 of the current fiscal year, cargo volume increased by 4.44 million metric tons, representing 8.88% growth compared to the same period last year. The minister encouraged port employees to exceed the previous year's 10% growth target.
The port has four Public-Private Partnership projects worth approximately ₹800 crore under construction, expected to be commissioned by 2027. Visakhapatnam Port features one of the deepest container terminals among India's major ports with a permissible draft of 16 meters and is transitioning to a landlord-port model to reduce vessel turnaround time and logistics costs. The initiatives were launched ahead of the 31st CII Partnership Summit-2026 hosted by the Andhra Pradesh government on November 12-13, themed 'Navigating New World Order: Trade, Technology, Trust.'