Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal, has unveiled a Rs 45,000 crore investment plan for the development of inland waterways and river cruise tourism at the inaugural Inland Waterways Development Council meeting in Kolkata. The meeting was attended by key stakeholders including ministerial representations from states as well as prominent stakeholders including policy makers and the industry leaders.
During the summit, Sonowal launched the “Harit Nauka” guidelines alongside the “River Cruise Tourism Roadmap, 2047”. “The vision of our Prime Minister is to harness the potential of the blue economy and become a global leader,” he said. The investment includes Rs 35,000 crore for cruise vessels and Rs 10,000 crore for terminal infrastructure development, aiming for a significant increase in cruise tourism traffic with overnight stays.
The Government also plans to boost cargo trade via inland waterways with an investment of Rs 15,200 crore, targeting a growth rate of more than 400% and increasing the volume to 500 million tonnes per annum by 2047. IWDC’s strategy includes expanding operational waterway capacity from 8 to 26 for river cruise tourism and increasing the number of cruise circuits with night stays from 17 to 80.
Additionally, river cruise terminals are projected to grow from 15 to 185, a move set to bolster the infrastructure substantially. The meeting also highlighted the turnaround of the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata, which has shifted from a loss in 2014 to a projected net surplus of over Rs 550 crore for the fiscal year 2023- 24.
Under the Jal Marg Vikas Project, the Government has initiated development of the Ganga-Bhagirathi- Hooghly river system, focusing on cargo, Ro-Ro, and passenger ferry movement, including small village connectivity through community jetties. The Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, part of the Government’s commitment to sustainable development, aims to increase the modal share of inland water transport and expand cargo volume, setting a target to develop over 60 community jetties and adopt alternative fuels for ships, enhancing the logistics and passenger movement landscape in India.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal said: “India has been growing impressively under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji since 2014. The immense potential of blue economy must be realised as we work towards becoming a leader in the Blue Economy of the world, a vision of Modi ji. The Inland Waterways Development Council was conceived with an objective to rejuvenate our rich, complex and dynamic waterways.
From the days of yore, waterways have been the conduit of economic growth and development of human civilisation. However, these brilliant proven tracks of prosperity remained neglected for decades, resulting in waste of invaluable wealth for the country. In order to resuscitate our waterways, IWDC is making an attempt with a modern approach, clear strategy and towards a goal to ensure sustainable development for an Atmanirbhar Bharat by the end of Amrit Kaal.
“At the IWDC, a roadmap was chalked to enable capacity in an additional 26 waterways, fit for River Cruise tourism from the operational strength of 8 waterways. The number of cruise circuits with night stays to be increased from 17 to 80 during the same time. In an effort to boost infrastructure in the inland waterways, the number of river cruise terminals has to be increased up to 185, registering a growth of 1233% from the present strength of 15 terminals.
Building on the capacity of enhanced circuits, the cruise tourism traffic with night stays will move up from 5,000 to 1.20 lakh by 2047. Similarly, the local cruise tourism traffic on National Waterways without night stay is to be increased from 2 lakh to 15 lakh by 2047. The meet was also attended by Shripad Naik, Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways, and Tourism, Government of India; and Shantanu Thakur, Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Government of India.
The IWDC was also attended by ministers from state governments, senior Government officials and other key stakeholders. The IWDC was organised by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), the nodal agency for inland waterways in India, under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Government of India. The one-day meet was held on board vessel MV Ganges Queen at the Kolkata Dock Complex.