Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually unveil the foundation stones for two major initiatives at the Pandu port in Guwahati, Assam, on 13 January as part of a wider programme of works aimed at rejuvenating the region’s inland waterways.
The initiatives include the construction of a ship repair facility at the Pandu multi-modal terminal, which is expected to save time and money by catering to the repair of vessels from the Indian Waterways Transport, the Government of Assam, the Inland Waterways Authority of India, the Indian Army, and private operators plying on NW-2 and NW-16.
The other initiative is the construction of an elevated road connecting the Pandu multi-modal terminal with the National Highway 27 in Guwahati, which will enable 24-hour smooth and swift connectivity, making it a sound business proposition for cargo operators.
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Maritime Skill Centre for Northeast, which will play a vital role in honing the region’s talent pool and providing candidates with much-valued skill sets for better employment opportunities in the burgeoning logistics industry.
Announcing the initiatives, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, said, “Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our ministry has taken up major initiatives to power the waterways of the region in order to convert them as the avenues of economic progress, development, and growth of the region. Be it the cargo or passenger movement via waterways, we are planning and executing policies to build capacity in the region. We believe that this will serve as a major shot in the arm for the development of the region.”