National Waterways No 3 will play a vital role in the movement of cargo to and from the Kochi Port with the upcoming International Container Transshipment Terminal

National Waterways No 3 (NW-3), better known as West Coast Canal, is in a sorry state at present. With the development of highways and roads, movement of cargo through the waterway has dipped drastically over the years with the canal losing a major chunk of its customers to the former. Bringing this negligence into focus, Union Shipping secretary, K Mohandas, while inaugurating a workshop recently on shipment of cargo through NW-3, urged the government agencies to take steps to boost cargo movement through the waterway.

In this context, Joy Jacob, executive director of Century Shipyard Private Limited, a mid-sized ship parts manufacturer in Kochi says, “Development of NW-3 is extremely vital since most of the highways and roads suffer from traffic congestion. NW-3 provides logistics operators an alternative means to deliver their shipments. Moreover, it is also a highly fuel-efficient mode of transportation as compared to other modes of transportation.”

NW-3 to help smooth cargo movement to ICTT

Mr Mohandas also asked the state government to sort out issues related to the development of NW-3. He also said that the Ministry of Shipping (MoS) would play its role for the development of the waterway. “Development of NW-3 is extremely vital considering the forthcoming International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) in Vallarpadam near Kochi. With the commissioning of ICTT, the quantum of cargo shipments will increase significantly at the Kochi Port, which in turn will witness rapid movement of cargo across its vicinity. Development of NW-3 will also help in smooth movement of cargo to and from the port,” says Ashok Swami, managing director of Volvo Logistics Service, a mid-sized logistics service provider in Kollam, Kerala.

Mr Mohandas further added that the state government must undertake developmental work of the waterway in association with the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), considering the important role NW-3 will play in export-import trade in the coming years.

Arup Choudhury