A Memorandum of Understanding is signed between IWAI and MOL (Asia Oceania) Pte. Ltd for transportation of LPG (Liquified Natural Gas) through barges on National Waterways-1 and National Waterways-2, in the presence of Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shri Mansukh Mandaviya.
It aims to facilitate an adequate fairway, handling of LPG cargo on IWAI terminals/ Multimodal Terminals at Haldia, Sahibganj, and Varanasi as per notified provisions and rates on request of MOL, and Providing Lease Available Depth(LAD) information on a fortnightly/monthly basis.
MOL Group is the world’s largest gas carrier company and will invest in the construction and operation of dedicated LPG barges under the Make-in-India initiative of the Government of India. Aegis Group proposed investments for setting up storage terminals, dedicated pipelines between the jetty to the terminal, and necessary infrastructure at the jetty for the evacuation of products from barges.
Presently, 60% of the LPG is moved through road to the various locations with a cost of Rs. 5 to 6 per metric tonne per kilometer, which the oil companies are interested in reducing. Also at times, there are issues of strikes by transporters, road blockages which cause delays in transportation. Therefore, the main area of interest for the companies is to use waterways to have a cheaper alternative to the existing model of transportation, which is also cleaner and greener mode. Also, there are some areas that are difficult to approach through rail/ road especially in the North-East Region where the IWT sector may provide usable solutions, besides the parcel size as compared to road trucks which can carry 17 MT of LPG in case of barges shall be of bigger size depending on the barge leading to economies of scale.