Development of National Waterway-1 under Jal Marg Vikas Project The Government is developing National Waterway-1 (NW-1) under the Jal Marg Vikas Project, with assistance from the World Bank. NW-1 refers to 1620 km Haldia-Allahabad stretch of River Ganga. The project would be completed over a period of six years at an estimated cost of Rs. 4,200 crore. Phase-I of the project covers the Haldia-Varanasi stretch. The project includes development of fairway, multi-modal terminals, strengthening of open river navigation technique, 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 etc. Multimodal Terminals with rail and road connectivity are to be constructed at Varanasi, Haldia and Sahibganj as detailed below:- Varanasi: Phase-I (A) of the project is being implemented on 5.586 hectares of land at Ram Nagar, Varanasi, mainly for offshore works of the terminal. The tender process for Phase 1(A) has been completed and work has been awarded at a cost of Rs.169 crore. Haldia: The estimated cost of construction of Phase-I of the terminal is Rs. 465 crore. 61 acres of land has been taken on 30 years lease from the Haldia Dock Complex for construction of the terminal. The process for preparation of detailed project report and tender documents is underway. Sahibganj: The requirement of land for the main terminal, rail and road connectivity, resettlement and rehabilitation of 235 households has been assessed at 241.63 acres for which land acquisition proceedings are in progress. The process for award of work for the construction of Phase-I at a cost of Rs. 292.10 crore is in progress. This information was given by Minister of State for Shipping, Shri Pon. Radhakrishnan in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.
