The Odisha government today inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Dhamra Port Company Ltd (DPCL) and Paradeep Port Trust (PPT) for developing the National Waterway (NW)-5.
The project would connect the ports at Dhamra and Paradeep with the steel and coal hinterlands at Kalinganagar and Talcher respectively.
The NW-5, targeted for completion by June 2017, is estimated to cost Rs 2,000 crore.
In the first phase, 201 km stretch of the waterway would be developed, connecting Jokadia (Kalinganagar) with Dhamra and Paradip ports. In the second phase, another 131 km stretch will be developed, consisting of the distance from Talcher to Jokadia.
The MoU was signed by state commerce & transport secretary G Mathi Vathanan, IWAI chairman Amitabh Verma, S K Mohapatra, chief executive officer of DPCL and Sudhansu Mishra, chairman, PPT in the presence of chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
“The waterway will provide water transport facilities to industrial hubs at Talcher, Angul, Kalinganagar, Dhamra port and Paradeep port. The state government will provide land free of cost and all possible assistance to fast track the project. The waterway will provide an economical and environment friendly transport system. It would also help reduce the burden of existing road and rail network,” said Patnaik.
The NW-5 will facilitate unobstructed movement of cargo like coal, iron ore, steel and other products.
IWAI will provide the desired fairway from the budgetary support of Government of India by way of dredging, repairing/reconstructing weirs, navigational locks and installing navigational aids.
The state government, apart from giving land to IWAI free of cost, would develop cargo terminal facilities at Pankapal/Jokadia through a joint venture (JV)/special purpose vehicle (SPV) with PPT, DPCL and other stakeholders.
IWAI has assessed the development of this river stretch of NW-5 to be the most economically viable in the country. The NW-5 is a mega inland water transport project along the east coast canal and Brahmani-Kharsua river system. The waterway includes the Talcher-Dhamra belt of Brahmani river, Geonkhali-Charbatia stretch of East Coast Canal, Charbatia-Dhamara stretch of Matai river and Mangalgadi-Paradip stretch of Mahanadi delta rivers.
Coal from Talcher to Dhamra and Paradip ports is the most important cargo for this waterway. It is estimated in the detailed project report (DPR) that about 11 million tonne of cargo can be transported per year through this waterway
Besides key minerals like coal and iron ore, agricultural products like paddy, rice, jute coconut and fish products as well as finished and manufactured goods like fertilisers, cement, sugar, salt, asbestos sheets and textiles are likely to be carried by the proposed waterway.
