Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, stated that Visakhapatnam Port is playing a crucial role in the economic advancement of the nation.

During his visit to Andhra Pradesh today, as part of the launch of 2nd edition of BIMSTEC Conclave, he toured Visakhapatnam Port and laid foundation stone for infrastructure projects valued at 320 crores rupees, associated with the Dredging Corporation of India and the Mercantile Marine Department. Speaking on the occasion, he said that the Visakhapatnam Port has been operational for the past 92 years and is currently ranked 19th globally in the container port performance index.

He mentioned that the port managed 82.62 million metric tons of cargo in the previous financial year. Earlier in the day, he inaugurated the second edition of the ‘BIMSTECH’ Ports Summit, which seeks to enhance collaborative efforts in the maritime sector within the Bay of Bengal region.