The first trial movement of vessels carrying stone aggregates from Maia Port in India to on the Sultanganj Port in Bangladesh Maia-Aricha route successfully took place on 12 February 2024.
Key points
- The operationalisation of Maia Terminal is expected to be a game-changer as it would shift 2.6 million tonnes per annum of Bangladesh bound export cargo from road to waterways.
- The Maia-Aricha route (Protocol Route 5 & 6) will reduce the distance from NW1 to Bangladesh and North Eastern Region by 930 kilometres.
- Inland Water Transport (IWT) is a highly cost-effective mode of transportation, particularly for bulk cargo like coal, iron ore, cement, food grains, and fertilizer.
- Despite its advantages, its current share in India’s modal mix is only 2%. The government aims to increase this share to 5% by 2030 under the Maritime India Vision (MIV)-2030.
- To achieve this goal, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has identified 25 new National Waterways (NWs) through feasibility studies to make them navigable for transportation.
