NEW DELHI: The Centre will facilitate the Rajasthan government for building an inland shipping port at Jalore, which will connect the state with the Arabian sea and promote transportation of minerals through a waterway."The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) under the Ministry of Shipping proposes to guide and support the Rajasthan government for building an inland shipping port at Jalore," an official statement said today.The port and the terminal that are to be created will help develop inland navigation facilities in western Rajasthan and will also bring about socioeconomic development of the region, it said."Business development opportunities along the canal for limestone, gypsum, lignite and cement factories are to be explored by the state government," the statement further said.It added that the pre-feasibility report of the project will be done by WAPCOS and they will submit the same within 5 months, duly monitored and guided by the IWAI."A canal is proposed to be built between Mori creek and Jalore. This canal will be required to maintain a minimum draft of 3 metres. It is also proposed that existing cherras and rivers, like Luni may be explored for establishing connectivity from Jalore to Mori Creek," the statement said.Efforts will be made to desalinate the water and use it for irrigation, it said adding this would help develop drought resistant crops and improve the agrarian pattern in the region.The viability of saline resistant crops like soya will also be studied for improving the agricultural diversity along the canal.In addition to this there are plans to develop smart cities on this stretch.It added that a study will also be undertaken on how to make the Indira Gandhi Canal navigable while the state government will take up the study to determine the requirements of width, cross structure along the canal, establishing vertical and horizontal clearance and bridges that need to be replaced with the cost associated with the project.