From a tiny little fishing village in the previous century,
Vizag as part of the coastal Andhra region came under French control in the
late 18th century; the Dutch had established a colony in the early part of the
18th century. The English on establishing the Raj developed Waltair as a
sister town of Vizag in the Madras Presidency. The city was the largest city
at the time of Indian Independence and was divided into three manageable
districts.
Industrial Revolution. The city got its first shipyard in 1949, the Hindustan
Shipyards. The petroleum refinery was setup in the late fifties by Caltex,
later taken over by Hindustan Petroleum. The saga of progress never stopped
and the steel plant was established in the early eighties. Vizag has emerged
into an industrial hub and has seen tremendous growth since India's economic
liberalization in the early 1990s. Fortunately, the city has not seen the
urban sprawl that characterizes many older Indian cities. The plans of 1200
acre SEZ and the first crude reserve of the country are already in the
pipeline. This ancient city with the beauty of a Sakhi and the piety of the
temples has indeed come a long way into becoming the industrial hub of the
State of Andhra Prade
While the airport is relatively small, activity has picked up with the entry
of new airlines. Vizag Airport has recently received permission to operate
night flights, and recently finished the constructing of 10000-foot long
runway to accommodate international flights and larger aircraft.
The city's growth has mostly been due to its heavy industries (both state
owned and private) such as...HPCL – Oil Refinery (Hindustan Petroleum
Corporation Limited) Vizag Steel Plant (Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL))
Hindustan Zinc Limited Bharat Heavy Plate and Vessels Ltd (BHPV). Hindustan
Shipyard Limited Coramandel Fertilizers
Its traditional importance in ship building is confirmed by the fact that
India's first ship, the "Jala Usha" was launched in Vizag.
Vizag is also one of India's main fishing ports, has a dedicated harbour for
the fishing industry and handles a large percentage of India's seafood
exports.
