The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, officially dedicated projects worth Rs. 216 crore in Visakhapatnam to the nation on Monday. These projects included the state-of-the-art Vizag International Cruise Terminal (VICT). Additionally, the Minister inaugurated the Covered Storage Shed-2 in the Port area, a Truck parking terminal, and an Oil refinery berth, all aimed at enhancing the capacity of the Vizag Port (VPA) with the goal of transforming it into a regional hub for both cruise and cargo traffic in the near future. During his address at the event, Sonowal emphasized the significance of a development strategy centered around our ports to achieve this vision. He reaffirmed the commitment to modernize, equip, and empower our ports to play a pivotal role in the development of the region. Sonowal also highlighted significant achievements in the sector, noting that before 2014, the cargo handling capacity stood at 821 million metric tons (MMT), and it has now surged to 1681 MMT across 12 major ports, more than doubling our capacity within nine years. Furthermore, the Minister mentioned a substantial improvement in cargo unloading efficiency, reducing the time it takes to unload cargo from a ship from 44 hours before 2014 to the current 26 hours, as per an official release. See also: Centre to fund nearly 30% of national green shipping venturesKarnataka plans to develop two greenfield ports