Mumbai, Feb. 20 -- Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated an Inland Waterways Terminal (IWT) on the Brahmaputra in Assam's Jogighopa. The terminal, built at a cost of $9.8 million is set to enhance trade and connectivity in Eastern India.
To mark the occasion, the Minister flagged off two ships, MV Padma Navigation-II and MV Trishul, and two barges, Ajay and Dikshu, carrying 110 metric tonnes of coal and stone chips to Bangladesh.
"The IWT terminal at Jogighopa is set to transform the connectivity in the region and bolster our trilateral trade with Bhutan and Bangladesh. Its strategic position allows it to play the role of an economic multiplier for the region," Mr. Sonowal said.
Jogighopa is a key port of call under the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT) and is part of an economic corridor under the Bharatmala Programme. It is located 108 km from the Bangladesh border, 147 km from Guwahati, and just 91 km from Bhutan's Gelephu, where a modern city is under development. The terminal is connected to the Multi-modal Logistics Park (MMLP) at Jogighopa via a four-lane road and NH-17, with a proposed railway link in the pipeline.
With an initial capacity of 1.1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), the terminal will handle commodities such as food grains, fertilizers, bitumen, crude oil, edible oil, fly ash, imported coal, and stone chips. It is also linked to trade routes via Kolkata and Haldia.
The event was attended by Bhutan's Minister of Industries, Commerce, and Employment, Lyonpo Namgyal Dorji.
According to the Ministry, the Inland Waterways sector has witnessed an unprecedented surge over the past decade:
767% increase in operational national waterways 727% rise in cargo volume 62% growth in multimodal terminals 860% jump in budget allocation
Cargo traffic on national waterways surged from 18 million tonnes a decade ago to 133 million tonnes in FY 2023-24, with a CAGR of over 22%.
The government is also working on several inland waterway projects in the Northeast, including the development of National Waterway-2, a ship repair facility at Pandu, and last-mile connectivity at Bogibeel and Pandu. The operationalization of the Jogighopa terminal marks another step in strengthening regional logistics and economic integration.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.