PM Narendra Modi today inaugurated the second waterway Multi-Modal Terminal (MMT) of India which is built at Sahibganj in Jharkhand. The inauguration took place during an event in Ranchi that the Prime Minister attended.
This is the second out of the three Multi-Modal Terminals (MMTs) being constructed on river Ganga under Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP). The first one also was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on November 2018 at Varanasi.
The MMTs, under the Jal Marg Vikas Project, are being built with an aim of developing the stretch of River Ganga between Varanasi to Haldia for navigation of large vessels up to 1500 – 2000 tonnes weight. The capacity is being increased maintaining a drought of 2-3 meters in this stretch of the river and setting up other systems required for safe navigation.
With a cost of INR 290 crores, the Sahibganj multi-modal terminal is built in a record two years time. This will enhance the inland waterways opening up industries of Jharkhand and Bihar to the global market and provide Indo-Nepal cargo connectivity through waterways route.
The Sahibganj MMT terminal will be vital for the transportation of domestic coal from the local mines in the Rajmahal area to various thermal power plants located along National Waterway-1. Along with coal, stone chips, fertilisers, cement and sugar are some other goods expected to be transported through the terminal.
The convergence of Road-Rail-River Transport at Sahibganj through the new multi-modal terminal will connect this part of the hinterland to Kolkata, Haldia and further to the Bay of Bengal. This will also connect Sahibganj to the North-East States through Bangladesh by the river-sea route.
At present, the capacity of the terminal is 30 lakh tonnes per annum. But the government is planning an investment of Rs 376 crores for capacity enhancement in Phase-II to 54.8 lakh tonnes per annum. This will be done under the public-private partnership model. A freight village is also proposed on 335 acres of land, bordering the terminal.
