Work starts on National Waterway
The Rs4,200 Crore National Waterway-1 (NW-1), being developed with assistance from the World Bank, would result in a viable economical, efficient and eco-friendly mode of transport and cargo deliveries.
Speaking on the project, Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said would enable commercial navigation of vessels with capacity of 1500-2,000 DWT Tonnage from Varanasi to Haldia .
In total, NW-1 waterway would pass through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, potentially serving the major cities of Haldia, Howrah, Kolkata, Bhagalpur, Patna, Ghazipur, Varanasi, Allahabad and their industrial hinterlands including several industries located along the Ganga basin.
The project, part of the 111 inland waterways development, would enable commercial navigation of vessels with capacity of 1500-2,000 DWT Tonnage from Varanasi to Haldia , with three Multi Modal Terminals.
Phase-I of the project covers the Haldia-Varanasi stretch includes development of fairway, construction of new Multi-Modal Terminals at Varanasi, Haldia, and Sahibganj, strengthening of open river navigation system, conservancy works.
It will also have modern River Information System (RIS), Digital Global Positioning System (DGPS), night navigation facilities, modern methods of channel marking, construction of a new state of the art navigational lock at Farakka.
AFCONS Infrastructure Ltd has secured a Rs170 Crore contract for Phase I of the Multi-Modal Terminal at Varanasi.
The Terminal, to be completed by August 2018, will have road and rail connectivity with proposed links on NH-7 and Jeonathpur Railway station respectively.
The Terminal’s cargo handling capacity on completion of Phase 1 would be 1.2 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA). Its facilities would include berthing space for two vessels simultaneously, storage area, transit shed, and a floating jetty for passenger transportation.
The Minister has also laid the foundation stone for Multi Modal Terminal at Ramnagar, Varanasi. fii-news.com
