The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways (MoPSW) unveiled a Rs 48 billion investment plan at Advantage Assam 2.0 in Guwahati to transform the inland waterways sector in the state.
Of this, an allocation of Rs 15 billion has been announced under the Harit Nauka scheme to transition into green vessels by 2030. Over Rs 15 billion has been earmarked to boost cruise tourism and cargo handling in National Waterway (NW)-2 and NW-16 by 2027-28, including jetty construction at Silghat, Bishwanath Ghat, Neamati Ghat, and Guijan, along with new infrastructure in Guwahati. Also, the MoPSW announced a Rs 3.15 billion investment for developing water metro services in Guwahati and Dhubri. A cruise terminal will be built in Guwahati with an investment of Rs 1 billion, while Rs 1.2 billion has been earmarked for a Regional Centre of Excellence (RCOE) in Dibrugarh.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is executing projects worth Rs 10.1 billion along the Brahmaputra (NW2) and Barak (NW16) rivers in Assam. Key developments include a Rs 2.08 billion ship repair facility at Pandu and a Rs 1.8 billion alternate road from Pandu to NH27. Additionally, new inland waterways terminals (IWT) are being developed at Bogibeel and Jogighopa, with investments of Rs 660 million and Rs 820 million, respectively.