New Delhi, May 7 -- The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rhenus Logistics India Private Limited to establish barge services across various national waterways in India.

Under the agreement, Rhenus Logistics, a Germany-based international logistics provider operating in over 70 countries with an annual turnover of EUR 8.2 billion, will deploy 100 cargo vessels with pusher tugs in a phased manner.

The operations will initially focus on National Waterway-1 (River Ganga), NW-2 (Brahmaputra), NW-16 (Barak), and the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol routes.

The first phase of deployment is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2025, with approximately 20 barges and six pusher tug...