BackL&T wins contract to build multi-modal terminal in Jharkhand
The Sahibganj terminal, with a cargo handling capacity of 2.28 mtpa, will have a stockyard, terminal buildings, parking area, berthing space for two vessels and shore protection works among others
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New Delhi: The Inland Waterways Authority of India has awarded the contract to build a multi-modal terminal at Sahibganj in Jharkhand to Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T).
The terminal, with a cargo handling capacity of 2.28 million tonnes per annum, will have a stockyard, terminal buildings, parking area, berthing space for two vessels and shore protection works among others.
The terminal is part of the Rs4,200-crore Jal Marg Vikas project to develop National Waterway-1 on the Ganga river with technical and financial assistance from the World Bank. The first phase of the project is set to be completed by 2019.
The hub will capitalize on Jharkhand’s 80 billion tonnes of coal reserves which would in turn lead to efficient transfer of domestic coal from the local mines to intended thermal power plants, a shipping ministry statement said.
Earlier this month, the road ministry had said that it has acquired land in Sahibganj for the hub, which would be connected by the roads, railways and waterways.
The facility will bring down the logistics cost by 6% from 18%, leading to large-scale export from Sahibganj to places such as Bengal, northeast and Bangladesh, while also having the potential to get extended to Myanmar.
The Jal Marg Vikas was undertaken to enable commercial navigation of vessels with capacity of 1,500-2,000 tonnes on the river.
The other two multi-modal terminals planned under this project are the Varanasi terminal and the Haldia terminal. Construction of the Varanasi terminal was awarded to AFCONS Infrastructure Ltd in May.
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