The state government will soon approach the Centre to take an early decision over its proposal to fund the Rs 5000 crore National Waterways-5 project, that intends to interconnect state rivers to the east coast facilitating water cargo movement in the state.
The proposal of the Odisha government to invest in the water transport project with the help of public sector undertakings (PSUs) and private partners has been pending at the Inland Waterway Authority of India (IWAI), the nodal implementing agency, for past eight months.
"The state minister of transport and commerce is likely to meet Union shipping minister for discussion on the waterways project next month," said a source in the government.
The project was conceptualised in 2008. IWAI, earlier this year, decided to abandon the project citing economic unviability. The state government, however, has proposed to fund the project on its own.
"During their last visit, we explained the IWAI authorities that if we construct the waterways in a phased manner, then there is a possibility of making money. We have got supports of many PSUs and private partners to take part in the project," the source added.
Of the 588 km long Waterways-5, the state government has identified a stretch of about 323 km from Talcher to Paradip and Dhamra as economically viable. The proposed waterway will run from Talcher via Kalinganagar industrial area to Mangalgadi (a point in between Paradip and Dhamra) and would connect Paradip to Dhamra to a point near Kolkata.
It has been categorised into three stretches- Talcher to Mangalgadi (237 km), Dhamra to Paradip (95 km) and Dhamra to Geonkhali (256 km). The Brahmani, Kharsua and Mahanadi river systems mainly constitute the river portion to be developed for the proposed waterway.
NW-5 is crucial for export of coal from Talcher region and iron ore from northern Odisha as the miners are currently reluctant to send the minerals to ports through truck and rail, citing steep freight rate that pressurise their profit margins.
It will also help steel and cement plants to transport imported cargo to their locations inside the state from the ports.
The IWAI had floated an expression of interest tender in 2010 inviting interested parties to develop NW-5, but no progress has been made in this regard so far. The cost of the project has since escalated to over Rs 5,000 crore, from earlier estimate of Rs 3,800-crore.
