Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal said the government has invested more than Rs 6,000 crore in the past decade for the revival of inland waterways as a viable alternative of cargo movement as well as improving passenger connectivity using the rich web of waterways.
“The sector had seen a mere investment of Rs. 1,620 crore in the previous 28 years since the inception of IWAI in the year 1986,” he said.
Until 2014, India had only 5 National Waterways.
“With the concerted effort made by the Modi Government, the number of National Waterways has increased to 111 now. This is a remarkable step towards realising and revitalising our waterways, considered as the most economical, most environment friendly and efficient mode of transportation.”
The revitalised National Waterways has moved improved its performance considerably as the total volume of cargo transported by it has increased from 18.07 Million MT in 2013-14 to 132.89 million MT in 2023-24, with a Compounded Annual Growth Rate of 22.1%, he said.
“We have set a target of 200 Million MT of cargo movement via waterways by 2030. For 2047, keeping in faith in the growth of inland waterways as a viable alternative for cargo movement, we have set a target of 500 Million MT, contributing meaningfully towards realising the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji’s Atmanirbhar Bharat.”
