Overview
- Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will chair the January 23 meeting in Kochi with Minister of State Shantanu Thakur and state ministers in attendance.
- The agenda features resilient urban water transport, efficiency in cargo movement, adoption of green passenger vessels, expansion of river cruise tourism, digital solutions, and a regulatory review.
- State Support Agreements are expected to be signed to formalise Centre–State cooperation for faster execution of inland water transport projects.
- Government statements and reports point to a Rs 5,000 crore allocation for the Northeast during 2025–2030 with projects worth Rs 1,152 crore under way, and the meeting is reported to prioritise operationalising Dibrugarh’s RCoE and completing the Pandu ship-repair facility.
- Kerala hosts five notified National Waterways with NW-3, NW-8 and NW-9 operating round the clock, and planned upgrades include the Thrikkunnapuzha lock gate modernisation and Kovilthottam foot-over bridge reconstruction on NW-3.