“Private participation will help the best use of National Waterway III”

The ammonia of the barge ferry passed through Kochi’s National Waterway III. |Picture source: File Photo

The 205 km long Kollam-Kollam-Kottapuram National Waterway III (NW-III) and its expansion from Kottapuram to Kozhikode will benefit greatly from the opening of the new norms that open up the internal water transport (IWT) sector.

This discovery is mentioned in the National Waterways (Water/Terminal Construction) Regulations formulated by the Inland Waterway Authority (IWAI) in 2025. Authorities operate under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MOPSW). IWAI officials and other stakeholders in the industry said this would help attract private investment to build terminals and use water transportation efficiently, a sector that has been neglected to date.

“Private participation will promote the transfer from roads and railways to waterways in a phased manner. Private players will help develop business opportunities and attract tourists into the industry. Ultimately, this will help to best utilize NW-III,” said A. Selvakumar, iWai iwai Director of the Regional Office at Kochi in Kochi.

New regulations for establishing and operating terminals and terminals across the country will help enhance infrastructure development and improve the ease of doing business. They provide new opportunities for investment, trade and economic growth, while also improving logistical efficiency. Official sources said this will significantly reduce shipping costs, simplify the transport of bulk goods and support the overall growth of IWT.

Under the new specifications, operators can maintain permanent terminals, while temporary terminals will have an initial five-year deadline and there may be expansions. Terminal developers and operators will be responsible for the technical design and construction.

Maintaining digging

Regarding stakeholders’ concerns about the minimum two metre depth of NW-III in Kerala, Mr Selvakumar said regular maintenance was carried out to ensure that the waterway had this depth.

“One exception may be the government is building a corridor south of Thrikunnapuzha locks with door locks. But there is no doubt that the movement of bulk cargo should be moved from crowded and polluted roads and highways to the inland waterways in Kerala to the behaviors that were once used to build the mind until the bonds were built. Underutilized.”

Neelakandan Unni, who served as a recent patron of nine terminals and served as the former IWAI Kochi-Shanghai Regional Director, sought quick measures to inspire the NW-III. “The idle terminal proves that everything is not good for the waterway, especially its depth. Most places do not have the depth of barges and other reasonable sized cargo ships. However, private participation will find private participants in the form of resort operators and other tourism businesses, who will allow the construction of ship jetties.”

A prominent tourism stakeholder said the Thrikunnapuzha lock and Kovilthottam bridge in Chavara completed the key to restoring NW-III, part of the 205-km Kollam-Kollam-Kottapuram stretch of the West Coast Canal, with its revised deadline for the final deadline for 2025, the final deadline for 2025.