IWAI inks project agreement with World Bank for Jal Marg Vikas Project on Ganga

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) signed project agreement with World Bank and for Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) i.e. National Waterway-1 on Ganga River from Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) to Haldia (West Bengal). It also inked US $375 million loan agreement for the project.

Background

The signing of agreement follows approval of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for implementation of US $800 million JMVP for capacity augmentation of navigation on River Ganga. Out of remaining amount, $380 million will be sourced by Central Government’s counterpart funds from budgetary allocation and proceeds from bond issue. Another US $ 45 million will come from private sector participation under the PPP mode.

Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP)

The JMVP is being implemented by IWAI with the financial and technical support of World Bank. It will develop waterway between Varanasi and Haldia on Ganga River, covering distance of 1620 km by March, 2023. It will enable commercial navigation of vessels with capacity of 1500-2,000 tons on NW-I.
The project covers Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. It aims to develop fairway with three metres depth to enable commercial navigation of at least 1500 tonne vessels on river. It also includes development of fairway, multi-modal terminals, strengthening of open river navigation technique, conservancy works, modern River Information System (RIS) etc.

Significance

• JMVP will provide environment-friendly, fuel-efficient and cost-effective alternative mode of transportation, especially for bulk goods, hazardous goods and over-dimensional cargo.
• It is component of Eastern Transport Corridor (ETC) of India along with proposed Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) and National Highway-2 (NH2).
• ETC will connect NCR with eastern and north-eastern states and function as link to neighbouring countries viz. Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand and other east and south-east Asian countries.

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2018