Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal gave a major push to the development of waterways in the North East by unveiling projects worth ₹308 cr in Guwahati recently. The event was simultaneously held at Bogibeel in Dibrugarh, Badarpur in Karimganj, IWAI port in Dhubri as well as Sonamura in Tripura.
The Union Minister inaugurated a Passenger-cum-Cargo terminal at Bogibeel near Dibrugarh, Inland Water Transport Terminal at Sonamura in Tripura and upgraded terminals at Karimganj & Badarpur in Assam on the same day. It is expected that this terminal will play a pivotal role in rejuvenating IWT in the region for both cargo and passenger movement, paving the way for growth of trade and commerce.
The Union Minister also laid foundation stones for construction of Custom Immigration Office in Dhubri as well as construction of the compound wall for IWAI Jogighopa terminal. The newly inaugurated Bogibeel terminal is being built with an investment of nearly ₹50 cr. It will also lead to increase in ecotourism as well as improve the economies of scale for existing major trade like tea, polymer, coal, fertiliser among others.
The upgraded terminals at Karimganj and Badarpur were completed with an investment of ₹6.40 cr. Speaking on the occasion, Sonowal said, “Modi Ki Guarantee is powering the waterways of the North East towards Viksit Bharat. All these projects will go a long way towards realising the vision of Narendra Modi for the North East acting as the powerhouse of India’s growth towards becoming Viksit Bharat.”
