press releases

Enactment of a Central Legislation to declare Lakhipur-Bhanga stretch of Barak River as a National Waterway The Union Cabinet today approved the introduction of a Bill in the Parliament for declaring Lakhipur-Bhanga stretch (121 kms.) of the Barak River as a National Waterway. It also gave its approval for preparation of projects/schemes for development of infrastructure facilities on this stretch of the river at an estimated cost of Rs.123 crore with implementation in two phases. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) set up under IWAI Act, 1985 will be the implementing agency for this project. The first phase of the project would be completed by 2016-17 followed by the second phase which is likely to be completed by 2018-19. The enactment to declare Lakhipur-Bhanga stretch of the Barak River as National Waterway will result in unified development of the waterways for shipping and navigation and transportation of cargo to the North Eastern Region particularly in the states of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. The Government of India has so far declared five waterways as National Waterways. These are:- (i) Allahabad-Haldia stretch of the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system (1620 km); (ii) Dhubri-Sadiya stretch of Brahmaputra River (891 km); (iii) Kottapuram-Kollam stretch of West Coast Canal along with Udyogmandal and Champakara Canals (205 km); (iv) Kakinada-Puducherry stretch of the canal along with designated stretches of Godavari and Krishna Rivers (1078 km); and (v) designated stretches of East Coast Canal, Brahmani River and Mahanadi Delta (588 km). The Lakhipur-Bhanga stretch of the Barak River would be the sixth National Waterway. Four/two laning of Baharagora-Sambalpur section of NH-6 in the States of Orissa and Jharkhand The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the implementation of the four/two laning of Baharagora-Sambalpur section of NH-6 in the States of Orissa and Jharkhand under NHDP Phase IV on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT/BOT) basis. The total length of the road will be 368.20 kms. The total cost of the project including land acquisition, rehabilitation and pre-construction activities will be Rs.3636.43 crore. The concession period will be 30 years including construction period of 36 months. The main object of the project is to expedite the improvement of infrastructure in the States of Orissa and Jharkhand and also in reducing the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy traffic, plying between Baharagora and Sambalpur. NH-6 is a major link for Kolkata in West Bengal to Hazira Port in Gujarat. The project also improves the connectivity of Baharagora in the State of Jharkhand with Bisoi, Jasipur, Keonjhar, Pallahara, Deogarh, Barakote, Jamankira and Sambalpur in the State of Orissa. It will also increase the employment potential for local labourers for project activities. The project is covered in the districts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Angul, Deogarh and Sambalpur in Orissa and Singhbhum in Jharkhand. our laning of Patna-Gaya-Dobhi section on NH-83 in Bihar The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the implementation of four laning of Patna-Gaya-Dobhi section on NH-83 in Bihar with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) – ODA Loan Assistance. The total length of the project will be 127.20 km. with total capital cost of Rs.2015.60 crore which includes cost of civil construction, supervision works, land acquisition, rehabilitation and pre-construction activities. The project will be completed within three years after signing of the contract agreement. The project takes off from NH-30 at Patna and ends at junction of NH-83 and NH-2 (Golden Quadrilateral) at Dobhi. The Japanese government is ready to fund the same through JICA loan, as the project will connect Patna-Gaya-Dobhi as a part of the Buddhist Circuit. The project also serves as link road for the world class international Nalanda University which is expected to come up at Rajgir. The project road will provide smooth connectivity to Gaya/Bodhgaya, Rajgir and Nalanda both from Patna and in turn connecting the East-West corridor and Golden Quadrilateral at Dobhi on NH-2. It also will provide substantial economic gain in terms of reduced vehicle operating costs and reduced travel time. Background: JICA has agreed to provide loan assistance with 100 percent financing for civil construction and supervision work for the implementation of four laning of the Patna-Gaya-Dobhi Project, on the terms and conditions set forth in the loan agreement and in accordance with the relevant laws and regulation of Japan. Disbursement period of the loan under the loan agreement shall be within the period of ten years from the effective date of the loan agreement.