Here are few things to know about Vizag, AP’s new capital

In 2015, the then CM N Chandrababu Naidu declared that Amaravati would be the new capital.

Hyderabad: Around nine years after Telangana and Andhra became two separate States, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday announced at the International Diplomatic Alliance meeting in New Delhi that Visakhapatnam will be the new capital of the State.

In 2015, the then CM N Chandrababu Naidu declared that Amaravati would be the new capital. In 2020, however, Andhra Pradesh planned to have three capital cities — Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool. The Andhra Pradesh High Court in March last year ruled against the decision and told the government to develop Amaravati, amid which the city also became the centre of a land scam — an allegation levelled by the ruling YSR Congress against the Telugu Desam Party.

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Eventually, the coastal city of Visakhapatnam, also known as Vizag, has finally been chosen as the capital. Read along to know more about the new capital of AP.

‘Jewel of East Coast’

Nestled between the Eastern Ghats mountain range and the Bay of Bengal, the city is crowned as the ‘Jewel of the East coast’ for being one of the largest port cities in south India. Being the largest and most populous city in Andhra Pradesh, it is also the second largest city on the east coast of India, after Chennai. The city’s several beaches, museums, and temples, have turned it into a tourist hotspot too.

A city with two ports

Being the financial capital and now State capital of Andhra Pradesh, it is the only city in India with two of the largest ports in the country — the Vizag port and Gangavaram Port.

The Visakhapatnam port, which opened in 1933, also figured in India’s top five ports in terms of the volume of cargo handled in 2022. Gangavaram is India’s deepest port with a total depth of 21 metres and was inaugurated in 2009.

First naval shooting range

In August 2022, a Composite Indoor Shooting Range (CISR) was inaugurated by Vice-Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, Flag-Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command at INS Karna, on the Eastern Seaboard. The first-of-its-kind shooting range in India, it serves as one of the three major bases of Eastern Naval Command, and is also the headquarters of ENC.

First submarine museum in South Asia

The Indian Navy’s Kursura Museum, one of the first four submarines purchased in 1969, played an essential role in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan conflict. It was decommissioned in 2001 and transformed into the first submarine museum in South Asia near Rama Krishna Beach in 2002. It is also the world’s second submarine museum, having been completed by then Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

Oldest shipyard in India

Established in 1941, Hindustan Shipyard Limited is India’s first and oldest shipyard. In 2022, HSL registered the highest value of production in its history.

Visakhapatnam Steel Plant

Founded in 1971, Vizag Steel Plant in Gajuwaka is the only Indian shore-based steel plant situated on 33,000 acres. The plant focuses on producing value-added steel, producing 5.773 million tonnes of hot metal, 5.272 million tonnes of crude steel and 5.138 million tonnes of saleable steel in the 2021-2022 financial year.