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Tips to cut coal carrying cost

Transportation cost of coal can be reduced by as much as Rs 10,000 crore per year if inland waterways is utilised for shipping the fossil fuel.

Stating this at a chamber meeting here today, Union minister Nitin Gadkari highlighted the importance of inland waterways to facilitate the movement of goods and passengers across the country.

"Inland waterways will help in saving logistics costs and boost movement of goods and passengers across the country. Besides, it will also save around Rs 10,000 crore per year while transporting coal, a crucial resource," Gadkari, who holds charge of shipping, road transport and highways, said at the annual session of industry chamber PHDCCI.

The minister said he hoped that Parliament would pass the bill to convert 111 rivers across India into national waterways in the current winter session.

The waterways is a cheaper and environment friendly medium for transporting of goods, he said.

One HP (horsepower) moves 150 kg on road, 500 kg on rail and 4,000 kg on water besides one litre of fuel moves 24 tonne/km on road, 85 tonne/km on rail and 105 tonne/km on water.

Under the present government, Gadkari said, the port sector had turned around and those managing ports had been directed to improve the performance.

"We expect the ports to register a profit of Rs 6,000 crore this fiscal, which the government will invest to create assets to spur growth," Gadkari said.

According to Gadkari, the infrastructure sector in India will witness massive changes and transformation in the next few years as the government is converting many four-lane roads and highways into eight lanes.

A large number of national highways will also be turned into expressways. Necessary permissions and approvals to undertake such assignments have been completed, he added.

The minister called upon industry to participate in making dry ports as India's 14 states have the potential for such ports.

A dry port is an inland inter-modal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as a centre for the trans-shipment of sea cargo to inland destinations.

For dry ports, willing land owners will have to give their land on which the proposed ports will be built to reduce the logistics and transportation costs especially for imports and exports, he added.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com