This will provide an alternative to the chicken neck route for easy and cost effective movement of cargo to and from northeast to foreign countries and other states of India.

Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal has announced that the contract to connect Guwahati via inland waterways has been awarded and services will commence soon.

The jetty will be operational for exim and inland cargo from Haldia to Pandu terminal in Guwahati, connecting the northeast with Kolkata via the National Waterways-2.

This will provide an alternate to chicken neck route for easy and cost effective movement of cargo to and from northeast to the foreign countries and other states of India.

Sarbananda Sonowal interacted with various stakeholders of port and shipping industry of Kolkata and Haldia port. Major oil PSUs , steel companies like Tata steel and SAIL , terminal operators, shipping lines, barge operators, custom clearing agents and land users of Syama prasad Mookerjee Port participated in the meeting. Mr. Sonowal invited all of them to be a partner in this unique opportunity of using sea and river route combination (NW1 and NW2) via Kolkata port.

Sonowal also informed that depth assurance contract have been awarded to maintain NW1 and 2, and the barge operators shall soon start using these waterways as depths are assured. The minister also said that there is thinking to provide guarantee to banks to give easy and soft funds for barges so that this sector can take off. The stakeholders assured that they will come forward to utilise this opportunity to make this mission a success .
More than forty key players participated in the stakeholders conference.