Govt to construct modern fish market at Visakhapatnam Port

The Dollar Business Bureau

The government has decided to develop a modern marine fish market at Vizag at a cost of Rs.2.75 crore. The market will be constructed at the Fishing Harbour, near to Visakhapatnam Port and will become operational in early 2017.

The Andhra Pradesh government has issued 30 percent of the funds from its special development funds, National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) has contributed 40 percent and 30 percent funds were contributed by Tata Trust for constructing the fish market.

The Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour has been handling sea food exports of around 1.15 lakh tonnes. However, the current fish market, built decades ago, was not properly developed. It is proposed by the government to reconstruct the complete market with modern amenities in an area of 2,200 sq. ft.

The market is expected to sell around six tonnes of fish every day. About 17 varieties of fishes including Tuna will be sold in the market. Currently, there are around 1,800 vendors in the market. It will also be equipped with CCTV cameras to ensure transparency in the transactions. Fish traders from the nearby states, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, will also be permitted at the market. In addition, the market will have a canteen, sprawling parking lot and recreation facilities.

Pravin Kumar, Collector of Visakhapatnam, along with the officials of fisheries and engineering department inspected the site at harbour on Sunday. The Collector enquired about the families of the fishermen and their dependents. He also informed the officials that he would talk to the chairman of Visakhapatnam Port Trust for allotting the land for constructing the modern fish market. He directed the officials to finish the process to invite bids for the market.