Inland Water Authority & Hooghly Cochin Shipyard Ltd sign MoU for setting up ship repair facility in Guwahati

DIBRUGARH:

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, on Thursday, attended the MoU signing programme between Inland Water Authority of India and Hooghly Cochin Shipyard Ltd. for setting up a new ship repair facility at Pandu, Guwahati.

Aimed at boosting the economic growth of the region, the facility is expected to bolster waterways connectivity for the movement of big cargo vessels to and from the region.

 "About 200 vessels ply on the rivers of Assam, but the repair work of these vessels is done in Kolkata. Now, with this facility in Guwahati, repairs will be done here which will save time and money,” the Chief Minister said.

As per the MoU, the facility is to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 75 crores, and the technical support for the project will be provided by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) -Madras. The facility – known as Slipway – is to be developed on a land of 3.67 acres provided by the state government and is expected to be completed by August 2023.

Speaking about the vision of PM Modi's Act East Policy, Sarma stated that the Centre has been emphasising the development of road, railways, waterways, airways, and Internet connectivity in the Northeast

Sarma thanked Union Minister Sonowal for initiating the project, and also requested him to set up a maritime-cum-shipping institute in Assam, stating that it will help in generating employment opportunities in the region.

(Edited by Shankar Kumar Turha)

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