The Government of India has declared the entire stretch of Ganges between Haldia and Allahabad as National Waterway (NH1). The 560 kms Haldia – Farakka stretch of NW1 in West Bengal will be developed as a part of multi modal system for cargo tariff from Nepal, Bhutan, North Bengal & North Eastern States.

The Transport Department, GoWB has initiated plans to reclaim the North Canal system, a 43 kms stretch of canal that stretches from the river Hooghly right across to the river Raimangal on the Bangladesh border. This was once the artery of trade which can restore trade links and lead to substantial economic development of the region.

The state of West Bengal has 2 modern ports – Kolkata and Haldia which together handled 53.02 million tones of Cargo in 2005-06, the second highest among major ports in India. Between the last 4 years (2002-03 to 2005-06), the tow prts increased their cargo volume by 22.6 million tones (74%). Currently both ports are being modernized and upgraded to cope with the growth in cargo. An outlay of US$ 60 million has been proposed to upgrade the Haldia port. The Kolkata port is also being modernized with an investment of US $32 million. Steps to improve the draft in the Hooghly estuary has been earmarked for the current 10th Plan period at an estimated cost of around US $80 million.

In addition a new 3000 acre Port-cum-special Economic Zone is coming up in Kulpi in Collaboration with Peninsular & Oriental Ports Limited. A proposal for setting up a Deep Sea Port has been taken up with the Government of India. Recently a deep-sea fishing harbour has been approved which will increase the export of marine fish and fish products to over 25,000 tones per year.

West Bengal has been a pioneer in power development over the years. NASSCOM-Gartner ranks West Bengal’s power infrastructure as the best in the country. With an installed capacity of 7616 MW, a further capacity of 2400MW under implementation and the lowest power tariff in India – US $0.06/unit for industrial use the State offers an attractive utility infrastructure for entrepreneurs.

Power Generation in the State is handled by various units – The West Bengal State Electricity Board, the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd. and Durgapur Projects Ltd. (State Sector); Damodar Valley Corporation and the National Thermal Power Corporation (Central Sector); and the Calcutta Electric Supply Company and Dishergarh Power Supply Company (Private Sector). Electricity Generation in the State increased by 9.9% in 2005-06 and stood at 44899.65 million units. Out of this the State sectors share was 39.5%, the Central sectors share was 42.8% and that of the private sector stood at 17.6%. The year wise growth in generation by the various key units between 2003-04 and 2005-06 is as follows:

Apart from the above the captive power generating units have an installed capacity of around 2,500 MW in West Bengal which today has a comfortable Power Supply position and offers 100 MW of ‘off peak power’ to its neighbouring states. 4new thermal power projects of 1,420 MW and a unique Pump Storage Power plant of 900 MW are coming up comprising an investment of US $2,000 million. The State Government has recently announced a policy on private participation in development of renewable energy in the state. Considering the interest of private sector, an investment of US $67 million in renewable energy is anticipated by 2006-07.

The GoWB is conscious of the need for advance power planning and action plans have already been undertaken for expansion of existing capacities and a number of green field projects are under construction for an additional 3,700 MW and scheduled for commissioning in 2007.