ONGOLE: The Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board (APMB) has completed the process of tendering for the construction of fishing harbours at Kothapatnam and Vodarevu in the erstwhile combined Prakasam district. The State government has accorded all permissions for the construction of two fishing harbours. The fishing harbour at Kothapatnam will be constructed in 32 acres. The government has given administrative sanction for `392 crore for the harbour, which will serve nearly 20,000 fishermen in the area.
The harbour at Vodarevu will come up in 30 acres. Administrative sanction has been given for `417. 55 crore for the construction of the harbour. The APMB has already completed public hearing on the two fishing harbours and got EC clearance and Consent for Establishment (CFE).
“We are eagerly waiting for the construction of the harbour in Kothapatnam. It will provide livelihood to about 20,000 fishermen families throughout the year. The project is a long-cherished dream of fishermen of Kothapatnam,” said S Srinivasa Rao, a fisherman.
“Vishwa Samudra Engineering Limited (Vijayawada) has bagged the contract for construction of all the five proposed fishing harbours in phase-2 of the tender process. The harbours will come up at Budagatlapalem (Srikakulam), Pudimadaka (Visakhapatnam), Biyyaputippa (West Godavari), Kothapatnam and Vodarevu (Prakasam). A target has been set to complete the construction of the five fishing harbours worth `1,500 crore by 2024,” an APMB official said.
Each one of these projects will accommodate 650 to 1,000 mechanised boats and also provide livelihood for about 20,000 fishermen families. “Thousands of fishermen’s families will get livelihood throughout the year with the completion of the two harbours. Even fishermen from neighbouring Nellore and Bapatla districts will also get benefited with the two projects. It will help reduce migration of fishermen from coastal areas in search of livelihood,” A Chandra Sekhar Reddy, Joint Director of Fisheries, told TNIE.