Waterborne freight transport resumes in Assam after 10 years

GUWAHATI

The Kopili River, India’s Nationwide Waterway 57, was operationalised on Saturday (August 2, 2025) with the first-ever cargo trial run, marking the resumption of intrastate waterborne freight transport in Assam after greater than a decade.

Outfitted with self-loading capability, cargo vessel MV V.V. Giri carried 300 metric tonnes of cement from a manufacturing facility in central Assam alongside the 300-km route on the Kopili and the Brahmaputra River (Nationwide Waterway 2), with a voyage time of 12 to 14 hours. Destined for Hatsingimari in western Assam’s South Salmara-Mankachar district, the vessel was flagged off from Chandrapur, about 30 kilometres east of Guwahati.

“It is a watershed second for inland water transport in Assam and elsewhere within the northeast. With NW57, we’ve not solely revived a misplaced artery of commerce throughout the state, but additionally taken a significant step in the direction of constructing an inland water transport system that’s economical, environment friendly, and environmentally sustainable,” Sarbananda Sonowal, the Minister of Ports, Delivery, and Waterways, mentioned.

“The Kopili cargo motion is a logo of the brand new Assam – related, empowered, and aligned with India’s development story,” he mentioned, including that reviving the waterways drives Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s imaginative and prescient of a thriving northeast.

Mr Sonowal mentioned the 1,168 km of operational waterways in Assam spans the Barak (NW16) and Dhansiri (NW31) rivers, other than the Brahmaputra and Kopili, whose navigable stretch is 46 km lengthy.

“Promotion of inland water transport is not going to solely decongest our roads but additionally convey economies of scale for the riverine communities in Assam to prosper and safe alternatives,” he mentioned.

Saturday’s trial run changed 23 truckloads of cement.