The development of adequate infrastructure facilities is one of the central issues that confront the development of IWT in India. These include activities like creation and maintenance of adequate navigable draft, appropriate channel marking, night navigational aids and communication facilities and other necessary freight handling facilities and inland cargo terminals at appropriate places along the waterway.
Due to poor infrastructure facilities, the freight traffic have not grown adequately for scaling up operations thereby, failing to attract private sector in a big way.
Like coastal shipping, IWT is also not picking up as was planned. The move to attract private capital to create infrastructure facilities for IWT is still to take shape. According to the Ministry of Surface Transport, the problem of narrowing of channels and drafts due to heavy siltation, the absence of infrastructure facilities such as terminals, and the inadequacy of navigational aids, are some of the constraints hampering the growth of IWT. In the United States, China, the Netherlands, and Germany, where IWT has been given due importance and encouragement. IWT has a substantial share in the inland transport network in these countries. In India however, this section has remained neglected and today carries less than one percent of the total inland freight compared to 14% in the United States, 46% in the Netherlands and 9% in China. This is largely due to inadequate width of, and depth in, the waterways and the lack of such infrastructure as cargo handling terminals, navigational aids and an IWT fleet. The Coastal Shipping Sector is not adequately exploited though it had tremendous potential.
Hotels in St Lucia With a wide choice of different types of luxury rooms within a villa, always enjoy your stay at Hotels in St Lucia.
