WASHINGTON: The Antwerp Port Authority, which owns Europe’s second largest port after Rotterdam, is keen on rendering consultancy for Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) and exploring partnership opportunity in developing Greenfield ports in Andhra Pradesh.
A senior official of the municipal port developed over 200 years ago near Brussels in Belgium has already been approached by the AP Government at the India Maritime Summit held in Mumbai in April for assistance on how to develop a petrochemical complex and inland waterways.
The PCPIR proposed between Visakhapatnam and Kakinada is now considered to be located near Machilipatnam in Krishna district where the Government is in the process of acquiring huge chunk of land for developing a port and an industrial corridor. In an exclusive interview, Port of Antwerp India Representative Raj Khalid told The Hindu that with their rich experience, they were interested in exploring business opportunities of mutual benefit across India.
The CEO of Port of Antwerp had a chat with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at the World Economic Forum at Davos early this year. “We want to engage in a dialogue as we see a bright future ahead for AP,” he said. The Port of Antwerp had registered nine per cent growth last fiscal beating world-wide slump. It had clocked a value addition turnover of €400 million. “We have the largest petrochemical cluster in Europe and one of the largest cargo handling facilities in the world for bulk containers, bulk cargo, bulk break cargo and steel,” Mr. Khalid said.
The port strategically located in Europe with good connectivity with international destinations has the largest warehousing facility with 1,100 acres of covered warehousing. It has 33,000 to 34,000 acres of which 2,000 acres are now available for allotment to various industries.
