A major breakthrough was made in Inland Waterways sector during 2011-12, when a Tripartite Agreement was signed between NTPC, Inland Waterways Authority of India and Jindal ITF Limited for transportation of imported coal for the Farakka Power Plant with an investment of about Rs.650 crore in the private sector.
This has been stated in the “Report to the People 2011-12” released by the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi yesterday.
The Report further stated that during 2011-12, three new projects were awarded under the Public Private Partnership mode which would provide additional capacity at an investment of about Rs. 7977 crore. Shipping tonnage under the Indian flag also crossed the 10 million Gross Tonnage (GT) target set for the 11th Plan with a total tonnage of 11.03 million GT, the Report added.
The Government is taking the following steps to modernize the country’s ports :
– Deepening of channels for improvements in drafts.
– Construction of jetties, berths, etc.
– Procurement, replacement or up gradation of port equipment.
– Improvement of rail/ road projects.
– Other capacity addition projects including backup facilities.
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Dredging Today Staff, May 23, 2012;