|
|
|
'Sittwe Port in Myanmar is ready for operations'
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
|
|
|
SME Times News Bureau | 07 Dec, 2018
Sittwe Port in Myanmar, being administered by the Ministry of External
Affairs under the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project to
facilitate connectivity between the mainland and the north eastern
states of the country is "ready" for operations, an official said on
Friday.
A tender will be floated this month or January for
appointing an operator for the port and movement of ships is expected in
six months, once the operator takes over, the official said.
The
project was jointly identified by India and Myanmar to create a
multi-modal mode of transport for shipment of cargo from mainland India
to Myanmar as well as to the north-eastern part of India through
Myanmar.
This project, which will connect Sittwe Port in Myanmar
to the India-Myanmar border, is expected to contribute to the economic
development of the north-eastern states by opening up the sea route for
goods.
"Sittwe Port along with the river port at Paletwa is ready
for operations. We are going to float a tender this month or latest by
January to appoint an operator. I think movement of ships from the
Sittwe Port is expected in about six months, once the operator takes
over," Inland Waterways Development Authority's Vice-Chairman Pravir
Pandey said.
The project is expected to reduce pressure on the
Siliguri Corridor, and since the project is of political and strategic
significance, it was decided to execute it through India's grant
assistance to Myanmar.
Pandey said waterways transportation
currently contributes about 1.8 per cent of the cargo movement, up from
0.5 per cent four to five years ago, and adding it with coastal routes,
the waterways' share is around 6 per cent.
About 5.8 million tonnes of cargo was transported on the Ganges river during 2017-18, up from 2 million tonnes in 2011-12.
"We
have crossed 6 million tonnes of cargo transportation on the Ganges
from April to October and this is expected to touch 8 million tonnes by
end of this fiscal," Pandey said at an event of the Bengal Chamber of
Commerce and Industry.
According to him, the travel time on
National Waterways 1 (NW-I) from Kolkata to Varanasi could be brought
down to five days from about eight days, taken in some of the latest
cargo movement, only after the night navigation system and river
information stations become functional.
The multi-modal terminal
at Sahibganj in Jharkhand would be ready by March 2019 and the same at
Haldia in West Bengal would be completed by the end of next year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
|
66.20
|
64.50 |
UK Pound
|
87.50
|
84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
|
|
Daily Poll |
|
|
PM Modi's recent US visit to redefine India-US bilateral relations |
|
|
|
|
|
Commented Stories |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|