Between Varanasi and Bogibeel, India’s longest river cruise service is scheduled to launch early next year. The cruise service will travel more than 4000 km across the Ganga, the Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR), and the Brahmaputra, according to Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
The Minister further revealed that the said route will be bringing new opportunities for the people of Assam to use inland waterways, along with promoting their livelihood and trade in tourism and cargo transportation, in his remarks following the launch of numerous projects for the development of Bogibeel region near Dibrugarh in Assam.
In this regard, the minister laid the foundation stones to construct two floating jetties at Bogibeel and Guijan. He also inaugurated Bogibeel Riverfront Passenger Jetty.
According to reports, the National Waterways – 2 (NW-2)—more commonly known as the River Brahmaputra—will be crossed by two floating jetties at Bogibeel in the Dibrugarh district and Guijan in the Tinsukia district, both of which are being built by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
A formal announcement regarding this has also been made, stating that Coastal Consolidated Structures Pvt. Ltd has been given the job under an EPC contract mode (engineering, procurement, construction). The statement also revealed that the two jetties’ estimated 8.25 crore construction cost and February 2023 completion date.
Additionally, according to reports, a permanent cargo terminal is being planned for Bogibeel to facilitate the transportation of cargo from nearby businesses like Brahmaputra Cracker & Polymer Limited and Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation.
