The Government of India has announced that it is planning to introduce roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) services at five locations on the Ganges River, also known as Ganga.

For this purpose, the government has launched a tender process to seek a consultant to advise on establishing freight transportation services at the locations.

The locations include Varanasi, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh; Haldia, in the state of West Bengal; Bhagalpur and Patna, situated in the state of Bihar. Besides several new locations on the Brahmaputra River might be added to the list.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), which undertakes projects for development and maintenance of Inland water transport (IWT) infrastructure on national waterways under the Ministry of Shipping, has already started a tender with the same aim.

This project is part of the National Waterways Act, 2016. The Act aims to make provisions for existing national waterways and to provide for the declaration of certain inland waterways to be national waterways and also to provide for the regulation and development of the said waterways for the purposes of shipping and navigation and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Under the Act, a total of 111 waterways have been declared as national waterways for development of modernized passenger and freight services.

According to sources, national and international consultants from Europe and the US have been shortlisted for the project. The consultants are expected to advise on the development of infrastructure at the port terminals, the evaluation of the total cost of the project and the mode of operation of the project.

The government intends to develop feasible studies of waterways for shipping and navigation. The right over the use of water, riverbed and the land still remains with the state government.