Varanasi, November 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated Ramnagar, the multi modal terminal in Varanasi, which is part of Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMPV). The terminal will facilitate to and fro commercial shipping in Varanasi via river Ganga. As part of the launch programme, Modi received 16 containers sent by PepsiCo from Haldia port, carrying over 2,000 tonnes of cola beverage.

The terminal, built at a cost of Rs 170 crore, is part of Rs 5369-crore JMVP, partly funded by the World Bank. The terminal is equipped to handle 1.2 million metric tonnes per annum, and includes facilities of parking, storage, transit shed, floating jetty and berthing space fortwo vessels at once. Inter-Model Terminal in Varanasi: Facts to Know About India's First Inland Commercial Waterway Corridor.

Operation and management of the Varanasi multi modal terminal will be assigned to a body under the PPP model. The operator is being selected through an international competitive bidding. The process will be completed by December 2018.

While Varanasi is part of phase-I of JMVP, the projects also includes an inland waterway corridor to be set-up in Sahibganj. The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the authority responsible for developing secure river navigation systems, night navigation facilities, modern river information system and strengthening the indigenous digital global positioning system or DGPS.

Meanwhile, Modi was also scheduled to inaugurate two key roadways - the 17.25-km Babatpur Airport Highway and the 16.55-km Varanasi Ring Road Phase-I. The two highways were built at a cost of Rs 812.59 crore and Rs 759.36 crore, respectively.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 12, 2018 05:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).