Mulapeta Port
Mulapeta Port is an under-construction deep sea port located at Mulapeta in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The port is being constructed under the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board, an organization of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. It is estimated that the construction cost of the port will more than ₹43 billion.
The port consist of an artificial harbour surrounded by breakwaters. Cargo will be handled through container berths, coal berths and multipurpose cargo berths located within the harbour. It will have a depth of and will be able to accommodate panamax and capsize vessels. According to a data from the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board, the draft of the port will be around, which accommodate 120,000 deadweight tonnage vessels at the harbour's jetties.
History
The state of Andhra Pradesh has an approximately long coastline, the second longest among Indian states and union territories in India. The long coastline enables the state to monetize marine activities on a large scale. Andhra Pradesh is one of the premier states in India to have large-scale port infrastructure, and currently has fifteen non-major ports and one major port. The Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board Act came into effect from 16 December 2016; importance and benefits of adapting PPP models in modernization of state ports and their management are acknowledged. As part of its efforts to develop port infrastructure, the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board proposed the development of a greenfield port at Bhavnapadu in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. The port limits were fixed in 1979, considering the current requirements and phased development, the Director of APMB requested the Government of Andhra Pradesh to increase the port limits.Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Jaganmohan Reddy laid the foundation stone of Mulapeta port in Srikakulam district on 19 April 2023.
Port infrastructure
Harbour
The Mulapeta Port is located within an artificial harbour, which is protected by breakwaters. The maneuvering basin or turning circle, located in the middle of the harbour, is deep. The harbour has sufficient draft to accommodate Cape-sized vessels, up to about 120,000 DWT vessels.The harbour is protected by two breakwaters—the South Breakwater, long, and the North Breakwater, long. For the north breakwater, the present bed level varies steeply along the alignment of the breakwater and ended up at a depth of CD. In case of south breakwater, major portion is stretched diagonal to contour line and is located at a deeper depth around to CD contour line.