Guwahati: Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, has confirmed an investment of Rs 1,126 crore to improve waterway connectivity in Northeast India.
Replying to a question in Rajya Sabha, the Union minister said that the amount is being invested in five projects on the rivers Brahmaputra (NW 2), Barak (NW 16), Dhansiri (NW 31), and Kopili (NW 57) to leverage the waterways for the strategic improvement of ties with neighbouring countries.
“Recognising the significance of rivers for connectivity and prosperity, 20 rivers in the Northeast were declared as National Waterways under the National Waterways Act, 2016. To improve the waterways’ connectivity within the Northeast area to facilitate enhancing trade expansion strategies, the central government approved five projects at a cost of Rs 1,126 crore for the development of the Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) infrastructure on national waterways in the Northeast.”
Of the five projects, the comprehensive development of river Brahmaputra (NW 2) is being done at a cost of Rs 474 crore, while the development of river Barak (NW16) in India along the Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR) is being done at a cost of Rs 148 crore.
The development of rivers Dhansiri (NW 31) and Kopili (NW 57) is planned with an outlay of Rs 116 crore. In addition, the construction of an alternative road to Pandu Port in Guwahati on NW 2 to NH 27 was sanctioned in January this year at a cost of Rs 180 crore.
The ship repair facility at Pandu is also being executed on NW 2 at a cost of Rs 208 crore.
Regarding the role of Act East Policy in this context, Sonowal said, “The objective of Act East Policy is to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties, and develop strategic relationships with countries in the Asia Pacific region by providing enhanced connectivity to the states of Northeast India.”
“Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government is enabling projects and programmes to unlock the true potential of Northeast India as the engine of growth of India. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways (MoPSW) has also been working with this philosophy to enable the rich web of riverine systems in the Northeast region for fostering sustainable development and strengthening economic growth,” he said.
He further said that special focus was on regional connectivity initiatives, which act as force multipliers for regional growth and development while enhancing people-to-people contact and economic cooperation.
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“Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has undertaken projects for connectivity of states in the Northeast with neighboring countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh. Our flagship program, Sagarmala, has identified 400 projects at a cost of Rs 2.55 lakh crore for the development of the eastern coast of India,” the Union minister said.
“These projects include modernisation of existing ports and terminals, new ports, terminals, RoRo and tourist jetties, enhancement of port connectivity, inland waterways, lighthouse tourism, industrialisation around the port, skill development, technology centers, etc.,” he added.
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