Background

The Government of Assam (GoA) has taken up a World Bank project titled ‘Assam Inland Water Transport Project’ to transform the quality of inland water transport systems across the state. The project envisions to integrate high-quality passenger and vehicle ferry services into Assam’s wider transport network systems, to create a more supportive institutional framework to modernize the IWT sector, ensuring safe and convenient voyage of passengers and vessels.

A society in the name and style of ‘Assam Inland Water Transport Development Society (AIWTDS) has been formed by GoA under the Transport Department, to support implementation of the project. Envisioning to weave sustainability into the state’s climate agenda, the project will not only promote the use of Inland Waterways as an eco-friendly, cost-effective, and convenient mode of transport for netizens but also drive regional & economic development for Assam and its neighbouring states. Further to it, it will provide better connectivity and access to remote hinterlands where the ‘ infrastructure’ is quite rudimentary. AIWTDS is committed to modernize the inland water transport infrastructures throughout the lenghth and breadth of the Brahmaputra and Barak rivers of Assam, ensuring safe, comfortable, and a gainful experience for inland waterways users.