Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh: 

Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said today that the Centre plans to build a port at Vadarevu in Andhra Pradesh’s Praksam district, even as the state government insists that the port be developed in Nellore district.

“I am writing a letter to the chief minister seeking allotment of 3,000 acres of land for the proposed port at Vadarevu. Under the Sagarmala project, this will also contribute to port-led industrial development in the region,” Mr Gadkari told reporters at a press conference in Visakhapatnam.

He mooted the idea of forming a special purpose vehicle with the state government to build the new port.

The Centre had virtually ruled out developing a port in Dugarajapatnam in Nellore in accordance with the provisions of AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Following this, the TDP government had hit out at the Centre, alleging that people of the state were betrayed.

The Centre had said it was ready to build a new port at an alternative location but the state government insisted that it be developed in Dugarajapatnam.

At the end of a two-day review of the port sector here, Mr Gadkari came up with the new proposal specifying the location where the Centre intended to build the port.