NEW DELHI: The ' Jal Marg Vikas ' ( National Waterway-1 ) project, which envisages developing a fairway between 1,620 km Allahabad and Haldia stretch, has taken off with a $3.5 million funding from the World Bank "The Jal Marg Vikas Project on River Ganga has now taken off with the World Bank extending a project preparation fund (PPF) of $3.5 million ... as advance, which is part of its financial assistance for the project," Inland Waterways Authority of India IWAI ) has said.Its spokesperson said three consultancy firms of international repute have been engaged and have commenced work to conduct different consultancy studies.Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the budget had announced a project on Ganga called 'Jal Marg Vikas' (National Waterway-1) to be developed between Allahabad and Haldia covering a distance of 1,620 kms at an estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore, to be completed in six years.The project would enable commercial navigation of 2,000 tonne vessels.The central government has designated the IWAI as the implementing agency, with a Project Management Unit (PMU), for the Jal Marg Vikas Project, an IWAI spokesperson said.National Waterway-1 (NW-1) is a waterway passing through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, potentially serving the major cities of Haldia, Howrah, Kolkata, Bhagalpur, Patna, Ghazipur, Varanasi, Allahabad and their industrial hinterlands including several industries located along the Ganga basin.The development of NW-1 would result in a viable supplementary mode of transport and huge quantities of bulk cargo can be transported thereby helping in economic development of this region, the spokesperson added.A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between IWAI and the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) in March 2015 for creation of logistics hubs with rail connectivity at Varanasi and other places on the National Waterways.As per the MoU, IWAI and DFCCIL will collaborate for the project and also facilitate business development in the hinterland and its feeder routes.