India Mulls Development of National Waterway -1

 

The project includes development of fairway, Multi-modal terminals at Varanasi, Haldia and Sahibganj, strengthening of river navigation system, conservancy works, modern River Information System (RIS), Digital Global Positioning System (DGPS), night navigation facilities, modern methods of channel marking, construction of new state of the art navigational lock at Farakka etc. 

 

This Project is expected to facilitate navigation of commercial vessels with the capacity of 1500-2000 Tons. It has been taken up with the technical and financial assistance of the World Bank.

 

The development works on NW-1 is expected to drive the economic growth of States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. In Uttar Pradesh the construction of Varanasi (Ramnagar) multi-modal terminal, at an estimated cost of Rs 170 cr. commenced in August 2016.  

 

The Terminal will have cargo handling capacity of 1.2 MMTPA on completion of Phase-1 in August 2018 and will include facilities like berthing space for two vessels, storage area, transit shed, parking areas, and a floating jetty for passenger transportation.   

 

Jal Marg Vikas Project envisages large investment in Bihar in the form of state of art terminals at Kalughat and Gaighat, ferry services, RO-RO services and dredging opportunities. Once the Kalughat terminal is developed, the transportation of cargo from Kolkata to Nepal through waterway (via Kalughat terminal) will be cheaper as compared to Railways and Road by 26% and 13% respectively when return cargo is available.  

 

In West Bengal, the proposed multi-modal terminal at Haldia on NW-1 is expected to become the hub for transportation of cargo to the North-East and West Bengal. 

 

The Terminal has already received a commitment of 5.92 MMTPA of cargo volume by the year 2018 (the year the Terminal is ready for operation) from the Industry, indicating huge cargo potential of the proposed terminal.