Sagarmala invests Rs. 125 crore in Krishnapatnam Railway Co.

Sagarmala Development Company Ltd. has invested Rs. 125 crore in Krishnapatnam Railway Company Ltd. (KRCL) for the development of the rail corridor connecting Obulavaripalli and Krishnapatnam Port.

Krishnapatnam Railway Company Ltd. is a SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) Joint Venture (JV) by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd for connecting 114 kms Obulavaripalli (Kadapa district) and Krishnapatnam (Nellore) in Andhra Pradesh. The total project cost is estimated at Rs. 1,850 crore.

The initiative will connect Krishnapatnam Port on the east coast with the network of Indian Railways at Venkatachalam at one point and Obulavaripalli on the other.

A 21-km section of the project line from Krishnapatnam to Venkatachalam is fully operational since July, 2009 in single line and was converted into double line since March 2014.

“The new rail corridor connecting Kadapa city with Krishnapatnam Port will result in huge savings both in freight costs and time to help develop Kadapa into a discrete trading cluster through multi-modal logistics solutions,” Anil Yendluri, Managing Director, KRCL, said in a release issued recently.

Sagarmala, a government initiative, is aimed at unlocking the full potential of India’s coastline and waterways. Its endeavour is to provide enhanced connectivity between the ports and the domestic production or consumption centres.

HBL