Odisha: Central Government Unveils Ambitious Rs 12,000-Crore Brahmani Inland Waterway Project

The central government is planning to establish a Rs 12,000-crore inland waterway on the Brahmani river in Odisha.

This waterway will facilitate the transportation of goods from four industrial clusters to the ports of Paradip and Dhamra. The government will develop infrastructure using the engineering, procurement, and construction model.

To operationalise the national waterway-5 (NW5), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be formed by Coal India Limited, Inland Waterways Authority of India, Paradip Port, and the Odisha government.

The respective company boards have already given their in-principle approval for forming the SPV, as reported by Economic TImes.

As per a government official, the state government has also committed to supporting the project, which will require funding from the central government due to its capital-intensive nature.

The project will involve significant investment in dredging and navigational locks to manage depth differences in the river.

The investment by the SPV partners will be based on the shareholding pattern of the entity. Currently, NW-5 handles 1 million tonne of cargo per annum (mtpa), which is expected to increase to 12-14 mtpa by 2030.