On May 26, 2025, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW), chaired the Consultative Committee meeting on Inland Waterways Transport(IWT) in Mumbai (Maharashtra).
- The meeting outlined plans for operationalizing key projects and future initiatives presented by the Noida, Uttar Pradesh (UP) based Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), the nodal agency under the MoPSW.
- 76 National Waterways (NWs) targeted to be operational by 2027, including 47 new NWs.
- Cargo volume on NWs is projected to reach 156 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) by Financial Year 2025-26 (FY26), aligning with the Maritime India Vision 2030 target of 200 MTPA.
Key Attendees:
The meeting was attended by Union Minister of State (MoS) Shantanu Thakur, MoPSW along with Members of Parliament (MPs) from West Bengal (WB), Odisha, Kerala, and UP, who supported increased budgetary allocations for sectoral growth.
Expansion of Inland Water Transport Network
i.IWT network to expand from 11 States (FY24) to 23 States & 4 Union Territories (UTs) by FY27.
ii.Projects worth Rs. 1,400 crore were launched during the Inland Waterways Development Council (IWDC) meeting on 10th January 2025.
iii.IWAI is conducting 10,000 kilometre (km) of monthly longitudinal surveys to assess Least Available Depth (LAD) for better navigability.
Key Infrastructure Developments:
i.National Waterway 1 (NW-1: Ganga River)
- A 1,390 km dedicated corridor is being developed for seamless vessel movement.
- Capacity augmentation to support 1,500–2,000 DWT (Deadweight Tonnage) vessels.
- New cargo terminals at Varanasi (Multi-Modal Terminal/MMT), Kalughat (Inter-Modal Terminal/IMT), Sahibganj (MMT), and Haldia (MMT).
ii.National Waterway 2 (NW-2: Brahmaputra River)
- Four permanent terminals at Dhubri, Jogighopa, Pandu, and Bogibeel in Assam, along with 13 floating terminals.
- A Rs.208 crore ship repair facility at Pandu (to be completed by 2026).
- A Rs.180 crore alternative road project (to be completed by 2025).
iii.Northeast Development Plan
- A Rs. 5,000 crore roadmap for inland waterways development in Northeast over the next 5 years.
- NW-16 (Barak River) has active terminals at Karimganj (Assam) & Badarpur (Delhi).
- NW-31 (Dhansiri River) is being developed to support Golaghat (Assam) based Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL)’s expansion.
Regional Waterways Grid & Economic Corridor:
A 4,067 km economic corridor will connect Varanasi (UP) to Dibrugarh (Assam), Karimganj (Assam), and Badarpur (Assam) via the India-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route.
- Traffic study and Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Jangipur (WB) navigation lock renovation underway, with a cargo potential of 32.2 MTPA by 2033.
Green & Sustainable Initiatives:
i.Under Harit Nauka Guidelines, IWAI is procuring electric catamarans and hydrogen fuel cell-powered vessels.
ii.Water metro projects and eco-friendly cruise tourism are being promoted.
Growth in River Cruise Tourism:
i.15 river cruise circuits are operational across 13 NWs in 9 states.
ii.Luxury cruise vessels increased from 3 (2013-14) to 25 (2024-25).
iii.51 new cruise circuits identified on 47 NWs for development by 2027.
iv.3 World-class cruise terminals under construction at Kolkata (West Bengal), with feasibility studies for Varanasi (UP) and Guwahati (Assam) are being conducted by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras.
- Additionally, 4 more cruise terminals are scheduled to be developed by 2027 in Assam at Silghat, Bishwanath Ghat, Neamati, and Guijan.
About Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI):
Chairman – Vijay Kumar
Headquarters – Noida, Uttar Pradesh (UP)
Established – 1986
