Construction of multi-modal terminal at Haldia to begin next week

KOLKATA: The formal construction of multi-modal terminal at Haldia in Bengal is expected to commence next week with Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari likely to be present at the foundation stone laying ceremony.

"The minister is expected to lay the foundation stone of the multi-modal terminal at Haldia along with the new navigational lock gate and River Information System (RIS) at Farraka," said a senior official of Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).

The minister is also likely to flag-off RoRo service between Kolkata and Howrah on National Waterways-1 (NW1).

Union Shipping Secretary Gopal Krishna on Saturday flagged off two tug-barge flotilla for NW-1, in line with the Centre's efforts to augment navigation capacity of the country's waterways. The barge has been procured at a cost of Rs 16.24 crore and will help in transporting fly-ash to Bangladesh.

IWAI Vice-Chairman Pravir Pandey who was also present at the flag off said the entire infrastructure for NW1 will be ready by the end of 2019 as scheduled. The modern RIS will work similar to an air traffic control for monitoring the waterways on real-time basis.

It may be mentioned that IWAI is implementing the Jal Marg Vikas Project for augmenting the navigation capacity of NW-1 from Haldia to Varanasi at a cost of Rs 5,369 crore, with technical and financial support

of the World Bank.

Krishna later met state Chief Secretary Moloy De and during discussions, a river bank protection plan was mooted jointly by IWAI, Kolkata Port Trust and the state government.