AP urged to set up maritime board soon

The Andhra Pradesh Government should expedite the setting up a state maritime board, on the lines of the Gujarat board. A maritime board is an essential pre-requisite to promote coastal shipping and use of inland waterways in the State and to draw investment from the private sector.
Several speakers at the Vizag Bay investment summit organised by Gravity 2.0 here on Saturday called for promoting coastal shipping and usage of inland waterways in the coastal region from Visakhapatnam to Vijayawada.
Integration
Integrating coastal and inland shipping with road and rail networks can make significant contribution to the regional economic development, said S.C. Mishra, Director of the Visakhapatnam centre of Indian Maritime University. Delivering the keynote address, he said waterways and coastal shipping have the potential to trigger the development of the region by offering an economical transport solution to the industries as well as people.
He advocated full use of the National Waterway 4 – Kakinada-Puducherry – the second longest National Waterway in India. The IMU can help entrepreneurs with ship design, hydrographic studies, training and mentoring.
Development
“The formation of a State maritime board is a prerequisite for the development of maritime sector. The Board would not only provide a single window clearance for the project proposals but also enable the Government to plan development of infrastructure. The State Government should learn from the experiences of similar boards in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu,” Sitaram Nadimpalli, founder-director of Reveille Engineers Private Ltd, said. The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has expressed interest in the sector and its AGM T. Kameswar Rao said the financial institution would be keen to fund small and medium businesses with detailed project reports in the areas of ship design, ship building, ferry operations and cargo liners.
Representatives from Imaginnovate, IMU (NSDRC), Sankhya Technologies, RECAMS, VCTPL, Vikkys Maritech, Reveille Engineers (P) Ltd, Xinthe, Vizag Steel Plant, Stanchart Securities India, SIDBI, MSME Development Institute, GITAM School of International Business participated in the event supported by the Visakhapatnam Port Trust.
Source: The Hindu Business Line