The government has formed a committee to study feasibility of transportation of goods using waterways of India.
The committee led by Joint Secretary at the Water and Energy Commission Madhav Belbase will include representatives from energy and irrigation, physical infrastructure and transport, industry, commerce and supplies, and foreign ministries.
The committee formed on Thursday will start its work in a few days, according to coordinator of the committee Belbase. “The ministries concerned will send representatives within a few days. We will then sit down and decide what we have to do,” Belbase told Setopati. “Coordination with India is also necessary to conduct study.”
The committee has been given Rs 3 million for the study. Belbase said the budget can be increased if the work progresses satisfactorily. He revealed that the committee has not been given any deadline to complete the study.
The joint statement issued during the India visit of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli also mentioned providing access to the sea for Nepal.
“Taking cognizance of their geographies and noting the development of inland waterways in both countries, the two Prime Ministers took the landmark decision to develop the inland waterways for the movement of cargo, within the framework of trade and transit arrangements, providing additional access to sea for Nepal,” the joint statement on inland waterways states.
The two PMs have directed the respective officials to do homework to add even waterways in the trade and transit agreement between the two countries.
India, that has the ambitious plan of expanding waterways across India, has agreed to provide the access to that network for Nepal.
India has been studying about building transportation network through its rivers with assistance of Rs 80 billion from the World Bank. It has also put forward an ambitious plan of constructing 14,000-kilometer of waterways.
India is currently developing waterway in the Ganges from Haldia of West Bengal till Banaras of Uttar Pradesh. It plans to ferry cargo through small ships there.
Nepal currently uses the Haldia Port of Kolkata for trade with the third countries. Koshi river meets the Haldia-Banaras waterway at Katihar of Bihar which is over 100 kilometers down the Nepali border. Similarly, Narayani river meets the Ganges near Patna of Bihar.
Nepal in principle can use the waterway developed by India in the Ganges through the two rivers.
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