In a move to protect the economic interests of major ports, the government has announced plans to restrict the development of inland waterway terminals (IWTs) near these ports. Moving forward, any development in these areas will require a no-objection certificate (NoC) from the relevant major port authority.
The aim is to speed up the development of IWTs, which are crucial river routes for inland shipping, while also ensuring that they work in harmony with seaports rather than competing against them, as per officials in the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways.
This new regulation applies to the development of IWTs along national waterways, with India currently working on 111 national waterway (NW) systems covering over 20,000km. While only five of these are currently operational, the plan is to have more terminals in place as additional waterways are prepared for cargo handling.
With around 50 IWTs already established, the need for more terminals will increase as new national waterways come online. Several of these new and existing waterways connect with the country’s 12 major ports, such as Haldia port in West Bengal and Kochi port in Kerala.
Under the new regulations, no NoC will be issued by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) for the development of terminals within the operational limits of major ports. Additionally, existing IWTs must also obtain NoCs within a specified timeframe.
To protect the interests of existing IWAI-established IWTs, new terminals will not be allowed within a designated exclusivity zone surrounding these existing terminals. The IWAI will identify these exclusivity zones within 60 days of the regulations being issued.
Any NoC issued will be valid for five years, during which time the IWT must become operational. Failure to do so within the timeframe may result in the cancellation of the NoC.
The government’s IWT development program aims to enhance waterway systems for transporting goods and passengers. Since 2013-14, cargo traffic through inland waterways has significantly increased, growing from 29.16 million tonnes in FY15 to 133.03 million tonnes in FY24, with a compound annual growth rate of 18.07%.
With targets set under Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, the government aims to further boost cargo traffic to 200 million tonnes by 2030 and 500 million tonnes by 2047.
