Even before the construction of the multimodal terminal at Haldia in West Bengal kicks off, it has received a commitment of 5.92 million tons (MT) per annum of cargo volume by the year 2018 from the industry, indicating huge cargo potential of the proposed terminal. Fly ash is expected to be the major cargo with a commitment of 3.8 MT followed by vegetable oil (0.63 MT), cement (0.36 MT), among others.
In a series of consultations with the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) held at Haldia, various industries, firms, shipping lines, cargo operators, shippers, and manufacturers committed transportation of cargo like fly ash, edible oil, vegetable oil, gypsum, etc., by 2018, the year the Haldia terminal will be ready for operations.
Earlier, a workshop on issues pertaining to the opportunities and prospects of inland waterways was held in March, 2015, in which various shippers, freight forwarders and vessel operators had participated. The participants had indicated that the immediate demand for transportation was about 1.8 MT per annum for fly ash and 1.7 MT per annum for edible oil, if the Haldia terminal was constructed.
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