The Center does not want inland navigation terminals near main ports, citing “economic interests”

The plan is to accelerate the development of inland navigation, which is an important river artery for inland navigation and shipping, but also to ensure it complements seaports rather than compete with them, say officials at the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

The change was introduced in the new regulation on the development of inland navigation on national waterways. India is developing 111 national waterway (NW) systems covering over 20,000 km – only five of them are operational, with 106 added in 2016.

Read also | Amazon inks has entered into a pact with the Inland Navigation Authority to improve delivery services

There are currently around 50 inland waterways, but as new approved waterways are prepared to tranship goods, many more terminals will be needed.

Several of the future and some of the existing Northwest ports touch 12 of the country’s major ports. For example, NW1 on the Ganges abuts the Haldia port in West Bengal, while NW3 is close to the main port of Kochi in Kerala.

Other major ports are Paradip, Kandla, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mormugao, Mangalore, Mumbai, Tuticorin, Chennai, Thoothukkudi and Visakhapatnam.

Under regulations issued by the ministry this week, the Indian Waterways Authority (IWAI) will not give any approval for the construction of a terminal within the “limitations” of major ports – an area of ​​operation at sea or on a route used by ships to dock in and out of a port .

The new regulations require all existing inland waterways to apply for a NoC from IWAI within a specified period.

Read more | “Multidisciplinary points” facilitating the flow of cargo in ports: among the decisions taken at the meeting of the Ministry of Trade

To protect the interests of existing inland waterways established by IWAI, the regulation also prohibits the construction of new inland waterways within the notified exclusive zone, i.e. within a certain distance from the existing inland waterways.

Such exclusivity zones will be notified by IWAI with the consent of the IWAI Management Board within 60 days of publishing the new regulations.

The NoC will be granted for a period of five years until the inland navigation is required to become operational. Any delay in the commencement of inland navigation beyond five years would result in cancellation of the NOC.

“The regulations clarify various issues that have been identified as obstacles to infrastructure development on the national waterway network. The government should consider further incentives for infrastructure development along inland waterway channels so that these critical navigation arteries can realize their true potential,” an official of the entity responsible for the terminal development said on condition of anonymity.

Read also | Sarbananda Sonowal is in charge of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways

The inland navigation development program aims to promote waterway systems for the transport of goods and passengers. Since 2013-14, the volume of cargo transported through inland waterways has increased exponentially, with total traffic increasing from 29.16 million tonnes (tonnes) in fiscal year 2014-15 (FY15) to 133.03 million tonnes (tonnes) in FY24, which represents a compound annual growth rate of 18.07%, an increase of over six times over FY14.

In line with the targets set under Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, the government aims to increase cargo traffic to 200 tonnes by 2030 and 500 tonnes by 2047.