Odisha to sign MoU with Waterways Authority for development of NW5

The state government has agreed to sign a pact with Inland Waterway Authority of India (IWAI) for development of National Waterways (NW 5) inside the state, along with other stakeholders such as Dhamra Port Company Ltd (DPCL) and Paradip Port Trust (PPT).

The agreement will indicate intention of the state government as well as DPCL and PPT to develop the waterways, government officials said.

“The MoU with IWAI will be signed very soon,” said G Mathivathanan, state commerce and transport secretary.

Though IWAI is the nodal agency to implement such projects across India, it has failed to kickstart the project citing lack of funds and participation by private players ever since it was conceptualised in 2008.

It had floated an 'expression of interest' tender in 2010 inviting parties to develop NW5, but no progress has been made since then. The cost of the project has escalated to over Rs 5,000 crore, from earlier estimate of Rs 3,800-crore.

Fearing delays, the state government now wants to expedite work on the 588 kilometers-long waterways in a bid to decongest road traffic of mineral and other cargo by roping in interested stakeholders to develop the project.

“We have not discussed anything related to how much funding will be arranged by the state, PPT and DPCL, as we are in the process of preparing the DPR. Fund arrangement will be discussed later,” said Mathivathanan.

IWAI has engaged Wapcos as the consultant for the preparation of the project report. As per the proposal, the state government has agreed to provide required land free of cost for construction of terminal facilities, suitable area for dumping dredged soil and other assistance for smooth execution of the project.

The total length of NW-5 is 588 kilometers that includes 91 kilomteres inside West Bengal.

The project is likely to be implemented in several phases. The first phase involves development of the stretch from Pankapal near Paradip to Dhamra while second phase will connect Pankapal with Talcher (322 kilometers). The third phase, which constitutes the balance 265 kilometers stretch between Mangalagadi-Charbatia and East Coast canal will link the NW5 with NW-1.

The funds will be arranged from the state and central government budgetary provisions along with external finance provided by stakeholders, said the sources.

PPT and DPCL have agreed to develop terminal facilities in their premises as the captive facilities and to operate, maintain and manage the cargo loading and unloading operations at Paradip and Dhamra respectively. In addition, the state government, PPT and DPCL have jointly agreed to develop terminal facilities at Pankapal or any other location as finalized by the consultant to operate, maintain and manage the same by forming a SPV (special purpose vehicle) or JV (Joint Venture).