GUWAHATI: The Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways (PSW) and AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off the maiden voyage of steel cargo laden barge from Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata to Pandu port in Guwahati today February 16
The cargo will move through the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBRP).
The maiden voyage is transporting a consignment of 1798 tonnes of TMT bars, manufactured by Tata Steel Limited in Jamshedpur.
The two barges, named DB Abdul Kalam and DB Kalpana Chawla, are carrying 900 tonnes each.
After unloading the consignment at Pandu, the barges will return with industrial coal cargo for discharge at Kolkata Dock System (KDS).
The barges will move along National Waterway 1 (river Ganga) onto IBPR and finally, on National Waterway 2 (river Brahmaputra).
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMPK) and Brahmaputra Cracker & Polymer Limited (BCPL) to set up a streamlined logistics chain for the movement of feed stock for a petrochemical complex of BCPL at Lepetkata near Dibrugarh.
The MoU will help set up a streamlined logistic chain for movement of feed stock like Naphtha, Propane, Pentane, etc. from Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) for Lepetkata in Dibrugarh.
On its return leg, the finished products and by-products are to be routed for distribution through the Port for consumption of the both domestic and international market.
The project also envisages setting up of tankage facility for storing imported feed stock of BCPL like Naphtha, Propane, Pentane , etc., at Haldia for which HDC, SMPK will provide land and railway connectivity.
Speaking at this historic occasion, the Union Minister, SarbanandaSonowal said, “Under PM Gati Shakti, the government has envisaged an integrated approach towards communication that is efficient, economical & environment friendly. A synergy between inland waterways and ports is being worked out to serve as a multi modal logistic hub for handling major EXIM & domestic cargo.”
It is to be noted that an interactive meeting chaired by the Union Minister on January 2 this year with all stakeholders inspired this idea and motivated the industry to realise the potential of inland waterways led to this development.
This is the first-of–its-kind collaborative initiative whereby multiple agencies, viz., Tata Steel, the Railways, the Customs authority, Inland WaterwaysAuthority of India (IWAI) and the operator of barges, ‘Ocean Whale,’ and the SMP Port, to make it a seamless and successful venture.