Cargo Ships will sail from Northeast to the rest of India via Bangladesh by the end of 2022: Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal

Union Minister Sonowal said that the government is working tirelessly to connect Mizoram, Tripura and Assam to strategic ports in Myanmar (Sittwe port) and Bangladesh (Mongola & Chittagong ports).

Guwahati: Cargo ships will start sailing over the Brahmaputra towards other parts of India via Bangladesh through the Sadia-Haldia waterway by the end of 2022, said Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal.

Sonowal is hopeful that once the dredging work at critical junctures of the river is done, the waterway will be ready for sailing 9f cargo ships. With support from the Indian Government, the Bangladesh government is also working on the Jamuna River to make the 2000 kilometres long waterway from Sadiya in Assam to Haldia in West Bengal via Bangladesh a smooth passage Sonowal Said in Guwahati on Sunday (January 9).

Sharing the Prime Minister's vision of Gati Shakti, the Union Minister said the northeastern region would play a critical role in resuscitating India's economic prosperity. To provide a springboard for the region to act as a catalyst in India's economic rebound, there have been efforts to build the region's waterways and connect them to major ports in the Bay of Bengal. 

This will unlock the region's economic potential and allow the landlocked region direct access to the international trading routes. Union Minister Sonowal said that the government is working tirelessly to connect Mizoram, Tripura and Assam to strategic ports in Myanmar (Sittwe port) and Bangladesh (Mongola & Chittagong ports).

To integrate expertise from the Northeast to make the dredging into a sustainable and economically viable proposition, the minister also indicated that support from experts in Tezpur University, IIT Guwahati and IIM Shillong would be crucial. The potential of the Brahmaputra and other rivers of the Northeast is huge. People will get direct benefits from the development of river tourism, cargo transportation, and alternative economic transportation. The government's Jal Marg Vikas project is working to ensure the region's optimal and holistic development by rejuvenating the rivers as a viable and sustainable economic proposition, Sonowal added.