Under an initiative to facilitate and strengthen the passenger and cargo movement upon three national waterways in the country, Government is aiming to make three permanent terminals operative within the next financial year. These terminals include Pandu, Assam on NW-2 (Rs 25 crore), Patna, Bihar on NW-1 (Rs 26 crore) and Kerala on NW-3 (Rs 27 crore). Addressing the second meeting of the inland water transport development council, the Shipping Minister V. P. Goyal said that ‘dredging work on NW-1 and NW-2 is at an advanced stage to make the water route navigable’. Goyal said that Planning Commission has agreed for revised pattern of funding for central sponsored scheme with 100 per cent grant assistance in case of North-Eastern states and 90 per cent grant assistance for other states. For the first time external assistance proposals for this sector have been entertained by multilateral agencies like ADB and World Bank. After launching a technical assistance mission for the IWT sector, ADB will make an assessment for assistance likely to amounting $300. ADB funded study for this sector is expected to commence in the next couple of months, the Minister informed. On NW-1, spanning 1,620-KM from Haldia to Allahabad, a permanent terminal is being constructed at Patna at Rs 25.50 crore, he said adding the terminal. Besides terminals at 11 locations would be constructed on NW-3 at an estimated cost of Rs 14.84 crore.
