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The 198th Board Meeting of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) was held in Delhi, where key decisions were made to advance the development of national waterways and strengthen the Inland Water Transport (IWT) sector.

As part of efforts to promote IWT in the North East, the IWAI Board approved a proposal for setting up three tourist jetties at Silghat, Bishwanath Ghat, and Guijan, along with a tourist-cum-cargo jetty at Neamati in Assam. These facilities are expected to meet the growing demand for cargo and passenger/tourist movement by improving infrastructure and services. They are also likely to enhance connectivity with regional and national tourist circuits via inland waterways, thereby supporting economic growth through trade and tourism across the North Eastern Region (NER).

The Board further approved the development of a Regional Centre of Excellence (RCoE) at Bogibeel in Dibrugarh, Assam. This centre, with a training capacity of 5,396 participants, will function as a dedicated hub for training, research, and capacity building in the IWT sector. It aims to address the acute shortage of skilled manpower in the region by offering certified training programmes aligned with the Inland Vessels Act, 2021.

In addition, the Board sanctioned the development of a land parcel measuring approximately 2,154 square metres at Fancy Bazar in Guwahati through the Indian Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation (IPRCL). The proposed multi-storeyed building will accommodate the IWAI Guwahati Regional Office, the Maritime Skill Development Centre (MSDC), and other essential offices once completed.

To enhance ship maintenance infrastructure, the Board entrusted the National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts (NTCPWC), IIT Madras, with preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for a new Ship Repair Facility at Patna, Bihar. The establishment of this facility on National Waterway-1 had been announced by the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, during a recent consultation workshop in Bihar focused on boosting IWT on the River Ganga.

The Board also approved the development of an extended port gate system at Balagarh, West Bengal, to be implemented by the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port.

Additionally, the Board decided to establish the Indian Waterways Congress, modelled on the Indian Road Congress. This body will work towards adopting global best practices in the waterways sector, promoting standardisation, and encouraging the use of cutting-edge technologies to support sustainable growth in IWT. The Congress is intended to provide a platform for dialogue among stakeholders, including government bodies, research institutions, industries, shipping companies, logistics organisations, and end-users.

The Board also cleared the cadre review report for restructuring IWAI, prepared by the National Institute of Smart Government. This restructuring aims to equip IWAI to address the evolving challenges of the IWT sector and meet its targets for enhancing cargo handling and cruise tourism.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the guidance of the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, IWAI has been undertaking numerous infrastructural initiatives to position waterways as a key driver of economic growth. The Authority continues to expand its reach across the country鈥攆rom Arunachal Pradesh in the east to Gujarat in the west, and from Jammu and Kashmir in the north to Kerala in the south. Besides National Waterway-1, IWAI is focused on capacity augmentation of NW-2, NW-3, and NW-16 through the development of IWT terminals, fairways via end-to-end dredging contracts, and provision of navigational aids such as night navigation facilities and locks.

News source: PIB