On river “Ganga” the Inland Waterways Authority of India signed the project agreement with the World Bank for Jal Marg Vikas Project. The Waterway is termed as National Waterway- 1 on River Ganga, which connects Varanasi, Uttara Pradesh to Haldia, West Bengal.
The loan agreement to conduct the project was made between the Indian Government and the World Bank is of US $375 Million. The project will enable the navigation of commercial vessels with the capacity of 1500-2000 tonne on National Waterway-1.
The signing of the agreement also made the approval of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affair (CCEA) for making US $800 Million JMVP for making the project successful over river Ganga. Whereas, about US $380 Million will be given by from the source of Central Government from its funds of budgetary allocation and proceeds from Bond Issue. And the US $45 Million will be contributed from Private Sector Participation under the PPC mode.
The development and activation phase of the National Waterways-1 project will promote the direct employment generation of about 46000, and the indirect employment generation can go up to 84000 in these states, i.e. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
The Jal Marg Vikas Project implemented by Inland Waterways Authority of India with financial and technical guidance by the World Bank. The Waterway between Varanasi to Haldia over Ganga River covers a distance of about 1620 Km by March 2023. The duty of JMVP is to provide fuel-efficient, environment-friendly, and cost-effective mode of transportation especially for cargo goods, risky or hazardous goods, and big size goods.
It will also strengthen the Navigation System of the river, Digital Global Positioning System (DGPS), Modern River Information System (RIS), Night Navigation Facility, and many other facility t mark the construction of state-of-the-art navigational lock.