Guntur, April 06: A Coast Guard port will be set up at Nizampatnam in Guntur district as the central government decided to set up such ports at a cost of Rs 10,000 crore to improve vigilance along the country’s coastline.
The central government has been concentrating on improvement of Coast Guard operations since the Mumbai blasts.
As a part of this programme, a Coast Guard port would be set up at Nizampatnam. Officials of the three armed forces _ Army, Navy and Air Force _ visited the place and submitted a report to the government.
The port will have a berth for Coast Guard ships, repairing unit, a dock yard, a training centre and pollution control units.
The Coast Guard (AP Range) commander has urged Guntur collector B Ramanjaneyulu to allot 1,000 acres of land for the port. The district officials had acquired 1,500 acres of land for the Nizampatnam industrial corridor three years ago. Joint collector A Sarath said that 1,000 acres of the 1,500 acres would be allotted to the Coast Guard port.
At least eight ancillary units will also be developed along with the Coast Guard port providing employment opportunities to about 10,000 youths of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Minister Mopidevi Venkataramana said the state government would extend its cooperation for establishment of the port.
As the Suryalanka air base is also located in the district, the Nizampatnam area is going.
–Agencies