$105 million worth deal signed for the promotion of IWT infrastructure in West Bengal

The World Bank, the central government and the West Bengal government signed a deal worth US$105 million to improve the inland water transport (IWT) infrastructure in the state on January 5, 2021. The project is aimed at facilitating passenger and freight movement across the Hooghly river, covering five most populous districts of southern West Bengal, including the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA), and helping in the economic development of the state, besides ensuring the development of KMA as a transport and logistics hub for the sub-region, leveraging the eastern dedicated freight corridor and connecting to the Northeast and the land-locked countries of Nepal and Bhutan. The loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development has a maturity of 17 years, including a grace period of seven years.