**Summary:**
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways highlights the increasing role of Inland Water Transport (IWT) in freight transportation. Cargo movement on National Waterways (NWs) has shown consistent growth over the past five years, increasing from 83.61 million tonnes in 2020-21 to 145.84 million tonnes in 2024-25. The annual growth rates were 30.13% (2021-22), 15.95% (2022-23), 5.45% (2023-24), and 9.63% (2024-25).
IWT is presented as an economical, safe, and environmentally friendly transportation mode, with an operating cost of Rs. 1.2 per Ton Kilometre, compared to Rs. 1.4 per Ton Kilometre by Rail and Rs. 2.28 per Ton Kilometre by Road, according to a World Bank study. IWT also offers socioeconomic and environmental advantages, including lower fuel consumption (0.0048 Litre/Ton Kilometre for waterways vs. 0.0313 Litre/Ton Kilometre for road and 0.0089 Litre/Ton Kilometre for rail) and reduced greenhouse gas emissions (0.0006 Rs/Ton Kilometre for waterways and rail vs. 0.0031 Rs/Ton Kilometre for road).
To enhance connectivity and efficiency, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has engaged National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML) for developing multimodal logistics hubs, including a Freight Village at Varanasi and an Industrial cum Logistics Park (ICLP) at Sahibganj, along NW1 (Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system). India Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation Ltd (IPRCL) is developing railway connectivity to the Varanasi Multi-Modal Terminal (MMT) and Freight Village, coordinating with Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL). Rail connectivity projects are also underway for the Sahibganj MMT/ICLP and Haldia MMT through IPRCL. These hubs have direct road connectivity to industrial corridors and are linked to the ports at Kolkata and Haldia. On NW2 (Brahmaputra River in Assam), the IWT terminal at Jogighopa is connected to the Multi Modal Logistics Park (MMLP), Jogighopa, which is further linked to the Haldia/Kolkata ports via the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route. This information was provided by the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarabananda Sonowal.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways: The government ministry responsible for ports, shipping, and waterways.
Inland Water Transport (IWT): An economical, safe, and environment-friendly mode of transportation.
World Bank: An international financial institution that conducted a study on the operating cost of different transportation modes.
National Waterway 1 (NW1) GangaBhagirathiHooghly river system: A National Waterway with direct connectivity to ports at Kolkata and Haldia.
Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI): An autonomous body under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML): A subsidiary of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) engaged for development of multimodal logistics hubs.
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh: Location of a Freight Village, a multimodal logistics hub.
Sahibganj, Jharkhand: Location of an Industrial cum Logistics Park (ICLP), a multimodal logistics hub.
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
Role of Inland Waterways in Freight Transportation
Posted On: 12 AUG 2025 3:37PM by PIB Delhi
The details of cargo movement on National Waterways (NWs) during last five years along with the annual
growth rate is given below:
Year 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
Cargo movement
83.61 108.79 126.15 133.03 145.84
(in Million Tonnes)
Annual Growth over previous year - 30.13% 15.95% 5.45% 9.63%
The Inland Water Transport (IWT) is an economical, safe and environment friendly mode of transportation.
As per the study conducted by the World Bank, the operating cost is Rs. 1.2 per Ton Kilometre by IWT mode,
Rs. 1.4 per Ton Kilometre by Rail and Rs. 2.28 per Ton Kilometre by Road. Socio-economic and
environmental benefits of Inland Water Transport (IWT) compared to Rail and Road are detailed below.
The Socio-economic and environmental benefits of IWT Mode:
1. Cheaper operating cost and relatively lesser fuel consumption
F a c t o r s Rates Considered
Source
considered Waterways Road Rail
0.0048 0.0313 0.0089
E n e r g y 11th Plan Working Group Report on Shipping
L i t r e / T o n L i t r e / T o n L i t r e / T o n
Consumption & IWT
Kilometre Kilometre Kilometre
0.843 1.170 1.009
Vehicle Operating Planning Commission: Total Transport System
R s . / T o n R s . / T o n R s . / T o n
Cost (TTS) Study
Kilometre Kilometre Kilometre
2. Less polluting and environment friendly mode of transportation
Rates Considered (Rs./Ton Kilometre)
Factor considered Source
Waterways Road Rail
Emission of Green House Gases (GHGs) 0.0006 0.0031 0.0006 12th Five Year Plan
Along NW-1 (Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system), Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), an
autonomous body under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has engaged National Highways
Logistics Management Limited (NHLML) [a subsidiary of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)] for
development of two multimodal logistics hubs i.e. Freight Village at Varanasi and Industrial cum Logistics
Park (ICLP) at Sahibganj, adjacent to Varanasi and Sahibganj Multi Modal Terminals respectively.India Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation Ltd (IPRCL) have been engaged to develop the railway
connectivity to Multi-Modal Terminal (MMT) Varanasi/Freight village with Dedicated Freight Corridor
Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL). Similarly, the work of rail connectivity with Sahibganj MMT/ICLP
and Haldia MMT has also been initiated through IPRCL. The locations of the Freight Village/ICLP have
direct connectivity with the industrial corridors by road. The NW-1 has direct connectivity with the ports at
Kolkata and Haldia for further integration with coastal economic zones.
On NW-2 (Brahmaputra River) in Assam, IWT terminal at Jogighopa has direct connectivity with Multi-
Modal Logistics Park (MMLP), Jogighopa, which is further connected to the gateway ports of Haldia/Kolkata
through Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarabananda
Sonowal in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
*****
SR/GDH/HK
(Release ID: 2155481)