Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) will lease out the assets built on national waterways to the private sector for operation and management for tenures as long as 30 years on a revenue share basis, according to its Vice-Chairman Pravir Pandey.

The GR Jetty and the Kalighat terminal in Kolkata were recently given to Bangladesh’s Summit Alliance after the firm quoted revenue share of 38.3% for these facilities.

Pandey said IWAI plans to raise ₹660 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2018 to part-fund projects along National Waterway 1 between Varanasi and Haldia.

IWAI is expected to spend ₹1,700 crores this fiscal to develop facilities such as multi-modal terminals and dredging of waterways to help 1,500-2,000-tonne ships to ply along the route carrying cargo.

The National Waterway 1 is being developed at a cost of ₹5,369 crore, with the World Bank funding half of the project cost.

The project includes a dredging component of as much as ₹2,000 crore, split into three packages, with the aim of giving a least assured depth (LAD) of three metres.

IWAI will also issue a tender shortly to procure 20 vessels with designs given by Germany’s DST to carry cargo such as cars, bulk carriers and liquids. These ships will be leased to private firms on a bare boat charter basis, Pandey added.