As part of ambitious plan to develop waterways and make the Ganga river navigable, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today laid the foundation stone of a Rs 211-crore multi-modal terminal here.
"Multimodal hub here will take the state to growth trajectory. This hub with rail, road and waterways connectivity will change the face of UP," Shipping Minister Gadkari said at a function here.
The minister said the phase 1 of the multi-modal terminal would be built at a cost of Rs 211 crore and would be ready by August 2018. The terminal is part of Rs 4,200-crore Jal Marg Vikas project to enable commercial navigation of vessels with capacity of 1,500-2,000 DWT Tonnage from Varanasi to Haldia.
The minister said that after completion of phase 1, the terminal's cargo handling capacity is estimated to be 1.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). The cargo that will be handled includes stone chips, cement, food grains, fertilisers, sugar, etc.
The terminal will have road and rail connectivity with proposed links on NH-7 and Jeonathpur railway station, respectively. It will have facilities such as berthing space for two vessels simultaneously, storage area, transit shed, parking areas, among others.
Announcing to promote seaplanes on the Ganga river, the minister also said that next time he would be coming to Varanasi via seaplane.
"We are making efforts to encourage seaplanes. A small nation like Maldives has a fleet of 47 sea planes but India despite vast potential has none," the minister said.
"We are also building two more terminals at Gazipur and Kalughat at a cost of Rs 250 crore besides 20 small terminals at an investment of Rs 500 crore. Ro-Ro crossings are planned at five cities including Varanasi, Patna and Kolkata at Rs 100 crore," he said.
Seven-star and five-star cruise services are being operationalised in 10 cities, including Varanasi, he said.
The contract for construction of phase 1 of the multi-modal terminal at Varanasi has been awarded to AFCONS Infrastructure Ltd at an estimated cost of Rs 170 crore and is likely to be completed by August 2018.
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The terminal will also have a floating jetty for passenger transportation.
The National Waterway-1 (NW-1) is being developed under the Jal Marg Vikas Project, with assistance from the World Bank at an estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore.
Phase-1 of the project covers the Haldia-Varanasi stretch.
The Minister said the cargo on Varanasi-Haldia stretch would reach 200 lakh tonnes by 2020 from 25 lakh tonne at present.
The project includes development of fairway, construction of new multi-modal terminals at Varanasi, Haldia, and Sahibganj, strengthening of open 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 navigational lock at Farakka, West Bengal, etc.
National Waterway-1 is of national significance passing through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, potentially serving the major cities of Haldia, Howrah, Kolkata, Bhagalpur, Patna, Ghazipur, Varanasi, Allahabad and their industrial hinterlands including several industries located along the Ganga basin.
Gadkari said rail and road corridors of this region are already saturated. Hence, the development of NW-1 would result in a viable economical, efficient and eco-friendly mode of transport and huge quantities of cargo can be transported thereby helping in economic development of this region.
