Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port is planning for riverine movement of Nepal cargo over the Ganges river upto Sahibganj, from where the cargo will move via road to Biratnagar in Nepal. This plan is part of the strategy to make efficient use of inland waterways for multimodal movement of cargo. SMP port may not have more draft, but it is well connected to waterways I & II. Further the port has good road and rail connectivity. The port is already using the Indo-Bangladesh protocol route for moving cargo to the northeastern states.
Mr. Vinit Kumar, Chairman, SMP Port revealed, “we plan to move cargo in barges over the river ganges upto Sahibganj which is close to Biratnagar. Later on, this movement will be extended upto Kalughat in the Saran district of Bihar. An integrated inland waterways terminal is being developed at Kalughat. In phase-II of the project when River Gandak is dredged and made navigable, Nepal cargo can be moved directly upto the border using waterways.
