भारतीय अंतर्देशीय जलमार्ग प्राधिकरण
1.NATIONAL WATERWAY (NW-1)
The Ganga - Bhagirathi - Hooghly river system between Haldia (Sagar) and Prayagraj (1620 km) was declared as National Waterway-1 (NW-1) in 1986. Since then IWAI is carrying out various developmental works on the waterway for improvement of its navigability and also development and maintenance of other infrastructure such as navigation aids and terminal facilities as laid down in the IWAI Act, 1985 (82 of 1985).
To augment the capacity of National Waterway-1 (from Haldia to Varanasi 1390 Kilometer stretch), Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) is being implemented with technical and financial support of the World Bank. The Jal Marg Vikas Project on NW-1 from Haldia to Varanasi was approved by the CCEA on 3rd January, 2018 at a cost of Rs. 5369.18 crore (US$ 800.00 million). The loan agreement with the World Bank was signed on 2nd February, 2018. The project cost has been revised to Rs. 5061.15 cr. The project is expected to be completed in December 2025.
The development objective of JMVP is to enhance transport efficiency and reliability of NW-1. The project comprises of several components viz. development of multimodal terminals at Varanasi, Sahibganj and Haldia; intermodal terminal at Kalughat; fairway development/ maintenance (Haldia to Barh-3m, Barh to Ghazipur – 2.5m and Ghazipur to Varanasi – 2.2m); navigational facilities (Channel marking, Day/Night Navigational Aids, River Information System etc.); Community jetties (Uttar Pradesh – 15, Bihar – 20, Jharkhand – 3, West Bengal – 22); New navigational lock at Farakka, Modernization of existing navigational lock at Farakka; Quick Pontoon Opening System etc.
4.1 Fairway Development:
A fairway with targeted depth and width has been developed / maintained on NW-1 for the purpose of smooth and safe navigation. This is being achieved by undertaking River Conservancy measures like bandalling, dredging etc.
Under JMVP, efforts are being made for improvement and maintenance of fairway. The details of fairway maintenance activities being carried out on NW-1 is given below:
| NW-1 divided into 11 stretches for Fairway Development Works | |||
| S N | Stretch | Least Available Depth (LAD) | Status |
| 1 | Haldia Access Channel | 3 m | Planned to be done through SMPA |
| 2 | Tribeni - Katwa | The contract for fairway maintenance signed on 16.4.2024 | |
| 3 | Katwa - Farakka | Fairway Maintenance works- Ongoing | |
| 4 | Farakka - Kalhalgaon | Fairway Maintenance works- Ongoing | |
| 5 | Sultanganj – Mahendrapur | Fairway Maintenance works- Ongoing | |
| 6 | Mahendrapur - Barh | 2.5 m | Fairway Maintenance works- Ongoing |
| 7 | Barh – Digha | The Letter of Award for fairway maintenance issued on 24.05.2024 | |
| 8 | Kalughat Access Channel | The Letter of Award for fairway maintenance issued on 24.05.2024 | |
| 9 | Digha – Majhua | Fairway Maintenance works- Ongoing | |
| 10 | Majhua – Ghazipur | The Letter of Award for fairway maintenance expected to be issued by June 2024 | |
| 11 | Ghazipur – Varanasi | 2.2 m | Tender published – The Letter of Award for fairway maintenance expected to be issued by July 2024 |
The stretch between Haldia (Sagar) – Tribeni (196 km) is tidal and LAD of more than 3.0 m is maintained naturally. The day navigational aid being provided in entire stretch of NW-1 from Haldia (Sagar) to Prayagraj (1620 km).
Dredging in progress on National Waterway-1