Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal informed the Rajya Sabha that the Centre has carried out extensive development of National Waterway-2 on the Brahmaputra River with an investment of ₹498 crore during 2020–21 to 2024–25. The initiatives include construction of major terminals at Bogibeel and Jogighopa, tourist jetties at Bogibeel and Pandu, continuous fairway improvement, and installation of modern navigational aids to ensure smooth and safe inland navigation.
The minister said key infrastructure projects aimed at modernising inland water transport in the Northeast are also underway. These include a ship repair facility at Pandu and an elevated road linking National Highway-27 with Pandu Port and the repair yard, together costing ₹419 crore.
Providing details on other waterways, Sonowal stated that National Waterway-16 on the Barak River has been developed at a cost of ₹134.72 crore since 2020–21. The works cover the upgradation of terminals at Badarpur and Karimganj, fairway development, maintenance of navigational aids, and procurement of amphibian dredgers.
He further informed that National Waterway-57 on the Kopili River has been operationalised, with 300 metric tonnes of cement transported from Chandrapur in Kamrup to Hatsingimari in South Salmara–Mankachar.
Under Central Sector Schemes for the development of inland water transport in Northeastern states, several projects have been sanctioned for terminal and fairway development, along with the procurement of small passenger vessels.
The ministry is also promoting river-cruise tourism in the region. The Inland Waterways Authority of India is developing dedicated cruise terminals on NW-2 at Guwahati, Neamati, Biswanath Ghat, Silghat, and Guijan. Additionally, a Special Purpose Vehicle comprising Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited, IWAI, and the Assam government has taken up a religious tourism circuit along the Brahmaputra, connecting seven key temples through a hop-on, hop-off river transport model.
