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The proposed deep sea Tajpur Port will not hinder development of Haldia Multi-Modal Terminal under Jal Marg Vikas Yojana. “We are targeting cargo coming to Haldia in mid-sized vessels and thus proposed Tajpur or Sagar ports do not come in the way,” Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) Vice-Chairman Parvir Pandey said. The MMT project would cost around Rs 500 crore and the contract is expected to be tendered very shortly. Pandey said World Bank has also given approval for the Rs 350 crore new navigational lockgate at Farraka contract awarded to L&T and SBE Belgium consortium.
The new lock gate is crucial for the Rs 5,369-crore Jal Marg Vikas project of national waterways-I. Pandey said with the old lock gate, passage of ships takes two days, which will be reduced sharply. He said Nepal government has agreed to tweak the Indo-Nepal treaty to include waterways as an additional method of transportation. “Container cargo now can go till Kalughta, north of Patna from Haldia and then it can take roadways which is just 2.5 hours to Nepal,” Pandey said. India is also planning to transport LNG to Nepal and a terminal is been proposed at Gazipur under the project.
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