High-tech river terminal to come up at Sahibganj by 2019

A multi-modal state-of-the-art cargo terminal will come up at Sahibganj in Jharkhand by 2019, said a government statement on Wednesday.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has awarded the contract for construction of the terminal at Sahibganj as part of the National Waterway Phase-1 of the Ganga Jal Marg Vikas Project to Larson & Toubro (L&T), the statement added.

The terminal at Sahibganj, with cargo handling capacity of 2.28 million tonnes per annum, will have facilities like berthing space for two vessels, store, barge loader, shore protection and associated infrastructure.

"Jharkhand has coal reserves of nearly 80 billion tonnes and this terminal will play an important role in transportation of coal from the local mines," it stated.

Besides coal, stone-chips are also expected to be transported through the terminal.

The proposed Sahibganj terminal is the second out of the three multi-modal terminals planned under the Ganga Jal Marg Vikas Project.

Earlier in May, IWAI awarded a contract to construct a multi-modal terminal at Varanasi to AFCONS Infrastructure Ltd. The third terminal will be constructed at Haldia in West Bengal.

The government is developing National Waterway-1 at a cost of Rs 4,200 crore under the Jal Marg Vikas Project, with assistance of the World Bank, to enable commercial navigation of vessels with capacity of 2,000 tonnes.

Phase-I of the project covers the Haldia-Varanasi stretch, which includes development of fairway, multi-modal terminals at Varanasi, Haldia and Sahibganj, with modern River Information System (RIS), night navigation facilities, modern methods of channel marking, construction of a new state-of-the-art navigational lock at Farakka.

--IANS

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