'Time to upgrade Vizag port ore handling complex'.

The iron ore handling complex at the Visakhapatnam port should be upgraded to make it more efficient and to address the concerns of the Japanese and others who import ore, according to Ved Prakash, Chairman and Managing Director of MMTC.

He visited the port on Monday to inspect facilities. Port chairman MT Krishna Babu assured him that the OHC was the lifeline of the Visakhapatnam port and that it was handed over to the Essar group for upgradation.

He said the OHC was handed over the Essar group in 2015 and the first phase of the project is likely to be completed in a few months' time. Rajiv of the Essar group made a presentation on the progress of the project and said the state-of-art facilities were being set up to make the OHC very efficient and improve loading rate. All pollution control measures were also being taken, he added.

The Essar Vizag Terminal Ltd. has taken up work on three berths - two in the outer harbour and one in the inner harbour - besides upgrading the ore handling complex to improve its efficiency.

A sum of ₹1,200 crorewill be spent on the project and it would be finished in phases, according to the company spokesman. Essar was given the project for a 30-year lease on a BOT basis.

HBL