The Centre is preparing a ₹12,000-crore inland waterway on the Brahmani river in Odisha to move goods from four industrial clusters to ports of Paradip and Dhamra. Under the proposed plan, the infrastructure component will be done by the government on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model.
“A special purpose vehicle between Coal India Limited (CIL), Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Paradip Port and the Odisha government will be developing the infrastructure required to operationalise the National Waterway 5 (NW5),” a senior government official told ET, noting that an in-principle approval to form the SPV has been taken by the respective company boards.
“There is also a commitment from the state government to take up the project,” he added. This project will require funding support from the central government due to its capital-intensive nature. Major investment is needed in dredging, and in navigational locks to manage depth differences in the river. “Investment by the SPV partners will be commensurate with the shareholding pattern of the entity,” the official said, adding that presently 1 million tonne of cargo per annum (mtpa) is moved on NW5 and is likely to touch 12-14 mtpa by 2030.