IWAI to complete Haldia MMT by June 2020

The Inland Waterways Authority of India, the nodal agency entrusted to promote inland waterway routes, on Tuesday said its Haldia multi-modal terminal (MMT) project will be completed by June next year.

The Haldia MMT, located near Kolkata, will play a crucial role in the growth of National Waterways 1 and 2 as it can connect the two major waterways, and acts as the gateway for the protocol route of Bangladesh.

This terminal will also help cargo from Haldia to move upstream to Varanasi on NW-1.

"The Haldia MMT is under progress and it will be ready by June," IWAI chairperson Amita Prasad told PTI.

She was in the city for a CII organised stakeholders' meeting on regional connectivity through inland waterways.

Varanasi MMT and Sahibgunj MMT terminals are already completed and both were inaugurated by the Prime Minister.

The MMTs will be handed over to private operators and the process of tendering is on for the completed terminals.

Prasad said the IWAI will focus on 22 rivers in the first phase of the over 100 rivers declared as national waterways.

Studies will be carried out for the new routes and then DPR would be prepared.

Some 116 rivers across the country provide 35,000 kilometres of navigable stretches.

Kolkata Port Trust chairman Vinit Kumar said the port is ideally located to support goods movement for India and Bangladesh using inland waterways.