World Bank to lend $375 mn for India's first National Waterways
The Dollar Business Bureau Inida's first waterways project received a financial backing of $375 million from international lender World Bank. The project is meant to create inland waterway for transportation between Haldia and Varanasi, on the 1,360-km stretch of the Ganges river. The loan sanctioned by World Bank covers 45% cost of the project, being undertaken under the Jal Marg Vikas scheme by the Shipping Ministry. The proposed project will facilitate navigation of commercial vessels with a capacity of 1,500-2,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT). Serving the industries on the banks of river Ganga, the new waterway will pass through four states namely Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. The industrial cities of Ghazipur, Bhagalpur, Kolkata, Howrah, Patna, Haldia, Allahabad and Varanasi will immensely benefit from this initiative. The development of National Waterway 1 (NW1) will also provide a good ...
Govt plans to develop waterport hubs to boost international trade
The Dollar Business Bureau The government is planning to establish three multi-modal waterport hubs to accelerate shipment of goods within India as well as facilitate trade flows with neighbouring countries. The three waterports will be developed in Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Haldia in West Bengal and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said. “The ministry is working towards establishing a ‘waterport’ – a waterways port – in Sahibganj in the state of Jharkhand that will accelerate import and export of goods between India and Bangladesh,” Gadkari said. Inland waterways make a paltry 3% of the entire transportation in India. China carries 47% of its total transportation through Inland waterways, while the European Union conducts 44% ...
