The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW), Shri Sarbananda Sonowal visited the Pandu Port Complex to review the ongoing construction activities including the Northeast India’s First Ship Repair Facility as well as the Elevated Road corridor here on Monday.
The Union Minister also met with the senior officials of the Ministry as well as the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), the nodal agency for the development of waterways in the country, to assess the progress of various projects being developed along the river Brahmaputra (National Waterways 2) with an investment of ₹645 crores.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister, Sonowal said, “Waterways have always been the lifeline for the people along the river. Under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi , this important aspect of our civilisation became a focal point of renewed attempt at finding sustainable solutions for economic development and prosperity.
The National Waterways 2 or our beloved Mahabahu Brahmaputra brings with tremendous potential for the people of Assam. In order to usher in a new age of marine transportation via inland waterways, the Modi government has made substantial investment to develop this. Apart from regular activities like dredging to maintain a Least Available Depth (LAD) for smooth passage of ships, vessels and cargo boats, we have also made provisions for development of infrastructure along the river. As many as 10 key projects on the river Brahmaputra are being developed with a capital expenditure of ₹645 crores. They are designed to create capacity in order to boost river tourism, public transportation as well as cargo movement. Apart from slipways at strategic locations like Majuli and Dhubri, new passenger terminals are being developed at Ghagor in North Lakhimpur and Bahari in Barpeta. We discussed about these projects here with senior officials of the Ministry and IWAI. It gives me satisfaction that the work is going on to execute these key projects.”
