Ajeya Kallam, Visakhapatnam Port Chairman, on 13 August 2012, performed bhoomi puja at the east quay 1A berth of the Visakhapatnam port to mark the commencement of work for building a fully mechanised coal berth.
The coal berth will be operational in 24 months and the estimated cost is Rs 390 crore. In February 2012, SEW Vizag Coal Terminal had signed a concession agreement with the Visakhapatnam Port Trust to take up the DBFOT project for 30 years. The berth will be designed to handle 7.36 million tpa of coal and will be of great use to thermal coal importers. The berth will have fully mechanised systems such as ship loaders, wagon-tippler stations, stacker reclaimers and conveyor systems. It will be built to global standards. It will have a fire protection system, a water-and-sludge management system and a dedicated green belt to protect the environs.