The 205-km Kollam-Kottappuram National Waterways III (NW III), which was developed for over ₹300 crore, has remained grossly underutilised for transporting cargo and passengers 15 years since it was commissioned by the then Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan. But stakeholders now pin their hopes on the expected completion, by 2025, of the 610-km West Coast Canal (WCC) that would provide seamless inland waterway connectivity between Bekal in Kasaragod and Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram.
This would provide direct waterway connectivity to 11 of the 14 districts in Kerala. The entire NW III — which was later on extended by 160 km from Kottappuram to Kozhikode — would thus become part of the WCC.
Once completed, it is expected to catalyse a shift in cargo transport from roads to waterways. To hasten this, the demand is rife that the State government announce a policy decision making it mandatory that hazardous and other non-perishable cargo be transported through the waterways – much like in Europe and to a lesser extent in China. Another demand is that the government reinstate incentives that were available for waterway transport of cargo and passengers (including tourists) until a year ago.
