Marking yet another milestone in the development of the National Waterway-1 on river Ganga, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has awarded the contract for constructing a Rs 517 crore state-of-the-art multi-modal terminal at Haldia, West Bengal, to the infrastructure firm ITD Cementation Limited.
To be completed by August, 2019, IWAI expects 7.95 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of cargo traffic at the Haldia terminal by 2020. The cargo projection for 2025 is 15.59 MTPA, growing up to 24.04 MTPA in 2045. Given its location, the terminal will be used to transport coal, fly ash, chemicals, petroleum & gas, construction materials, fertilizers and edible items.
IWAI chairman Amitabh Verma said, "The Rs 517 crore inland water transport terminal at Haldia, with rail and road interconnectivity, is one of the three multi-modal terminals to come up on river Ganga under the Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) of IWAI. This is in line with IWAI’s commitment for a time-bound completion of work on NW-1."
The contract for multi-modal terminals at Varanasi (Rs 170 crore) in Uttar Pradesh and Sahibganj (Rs 280 cr) in Jharkhand were awarded earlier this year even as construction works have started at both the locations. In November, IWAI awarded Rs 359 crore contract for construction of a modern navigation lock at Farakka in West Bengal.
The Haldia terminal that will be spread across 61 acres of land at the Haldia Dock Complex will have facilities including berthing space for four vessels, stockyard for storing, belt conveyor system with fixed hoppers, barge loader, shore protection works, roads, ramps and parking area, and other terminal buildings.
Six bids were received from major infrastructure companies and following a rigorous evaluation process, ITD Cementation Limited was awarded the contract.
The government is developing the National Waterway-1 under the Jal Marg Vikas Project, with technical and financial assistance of the World Bank at an estimated cost of Rs 5,369 crore. The project would enable commercial navigation of vessels with capacity of 1500-2,000 tons.
Phase-I of the project covers the Haldia-Varanasi stretch. The project includes development of fairway, three 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 a new state of the art navigation lock at Farakka.
