Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation the newly constructed    Multi Modal Terminal on River Ganga at Varanasi on Monday, the 12^th of November, 2018. This is the first of the three Multi Modal Terminals and two Inter Modal Terminals  being constructed on the river. Benefits of Multi Modal Terminal on River Ganga at Varanasi This will revolutionize the transport and economic scenario in West Bengal, Jharkhand,Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.It will also revive the ancient trade route which established Patna as economic and political center and Varanasi as religious center in Ancient India. Patna to benefit most If the full potential of this water way is revived than Patna will again become a economic hub of Eastern India.Patna has unique geographical advantage of located near confluence of river Son, Gandak, Koshi ,Punpun with Ganga. Historically ,Patna was international trade center since janpada period.During Mauryan Empire it developed further.Even during the 17th century, Patna again  developed as a center of international trade. In 1620,a factory  in Patna was created by the English East India Company  for trading.Britishers traded in  calico,saltpeter,Indigo and silk etc .  Francois Bernier, in Travels in the Mogul Empire (1656–1668),has praised the trade facilities  at Patna.He said that the trade was carried down the Ganges with great facility.He further says that the Dutch and English sent large cargoes to many parts of the Indies, and to Europe from Patna through Ganga waterways. This trade encouraged other Europeans, principally the French, Danes, Dutch and Portuguese, to compete in the lucrative business. Peter Mundy, writing in 1632, described Patna as the greatest mart of the eastern region. Jal Marg Vikas project The MMTs are being built as part of the Government’s Jal Marg Vikas project that aims to develop the stretch of River Ganga between Varanasi to Haldi for navigation of large vessels upto1500-2000 tonnes weight, by maintaining a drought of 2-3 metres in this stretch of the river and setting up other systems required for safe navigation. The objective is to promote inland waterways as a cheaper and more environment friendly means of transport, especially for cargo movement. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the project Implementing Agency Haldia-Varanasi stretch of National Waterway-1 The Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) is being implemented on the Haldia-Varanasi stretch of National Waterway-1 (NW-1) with the technical assistance and investment support of the World Bank, at an estimated cost of Rs. 5,369.18 crores (USD 800 million, of which USD 375 is IBRD loan) on a 50:50 sharing basis between Government of India and the World Bank. The project entails construction of 3 multimodal terminals (Varanasi, Sahibganj and Haldia); 2 intermodal terminals; 5 Roll On – Roll Off (Ro-Ro) terminal pairs; new navigation lock at Farakka; assured depth dredging; integrated vessel repair & maintenance facility, Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS), River Information System (RIS), river training & river conservancy works.   Salient features of Varanasi Mutli-Modal Terminal (MMT) are as follows

• First Multi-Modal Terminal on National Waterway -1.
• Land: 33.34 hectares.
• Cost of Phase-I of MMT: Rs. 206.84 cr.
• Terminal capacity: 1.26 MPTA
• Start date of the project: June, 2016
• Completion date of the project: November 2018

The following are the main ingredients of the project, which are ready for operations:

• Jetty: Length 200 m x Width 42 m with berthing and mooring facility.
• 02  Mobile Harbour Cranes
• Approach Road
• Internal Road
• Stone Pitching Works and bank protection
• Shell structure of ancillary buildings, worker amenity building ready

Operation & management on PPP model Operation, management and further development of the Multi Modal Terminal is proposed to be entrusted to an Operator on PPP model. Selection of the PPP Operator through an International Competitive Bidding is at advanced stage and expected to be completed by December 2018. Freight Village at Varanasi The project of multi-modal terminal and proposed Freight Village at Varanasi are expected to generate 500 direct employment and more than 2000 indirect employment opportunities. India’s first container vessel Prime Minister will also receive India’s first container vessel that sailed from Kolkata on 30^th October 2018, carrying cargo belonging to PEPSICO (India) from Kolkata to Varanasi. Container movement on an inland waterway in India is being done for the first time post-independence. The IWAI vessel, MV RABINDRANATH TAGORE is transporting 16 containers equivalent to 16 truckloads of food and snacks and is expected to reach Varanasi on 11^th November 2018. It will make its return journey with fertilizers from IFFCO. Prime Minister will also inaugurate two National Highways projects In a separate event the same day, Prime Minister will also inaugurate two National Highways projects – the Babatpur-Varanasi Airport road and Varanasi Ring Road. In addition to this, he will also inaugurate some sewerage projects in the city and lay foundation stone for a project  underNamamiGange programme of National Mission for Clean Ganga.