Minister for Industries and Commerce, IT and Skill Development Mekapati Goutham Reddy on Thursday requested Union Minister of State for Shipping and Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh L. Mandaviya to give an early approval for the augmentation of infrastructure at the Kakinada anchorage port, which was estimated to cost ₹100 crore, under the Sagarmala programme.
In a meeting with Mr. Mandaviya in New Delhi, Mr. Goutham Reddy also sought road connectivity to the proposed Bhavanapadu, Machilipatnam, Ramayapatnam and Kakinada SEZ ports as a part of the road development component of the Bharatmala Pariyojana.
Coastal cargo berths
He also requested the Union Minister to extend financial support for the construction of coastal cargo berths at eight fishing harbours proposed to be built by the A.P. government.
Mr. Goutham Reddy discussed the establishment of the bulk drug manufacturing park and building the skill ecosystem in the State with Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur. He invited Mr. Thakur to visit the State and have an interaction with the entrepreneurs.
Digital India programme
The Minister called on the Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ajay Sawhney. The duo deliberated on scaling up the Digital India initiative and implementation of various programme of the Ministry.
Mr. Goutham Reddy sought Mr. Sawhney’s help in the establishment of a data centre in the State and another electronics manufacturing cluster, and financial support for the e-Governance projects. Special Chief Secretary R. Karikal Valaven and other senior officials accompanied the Minister.