Tue May 06 23:25:45 UTC 2025: ## India’s Inland Waterways Get a Boost with Major Logistics Partnership
**New Delhi, May 7, 2025** – The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is significantly expanding its cargo transport capabilities through a new partnership with global logistics firm Rhenus Logistics India Private Limited. The two entities signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on May 6th, aiming to introduce 100 barges to India’s national waterways in a phased rollout.
The first phase will deploy 20 barges and six pushers, targeting the movement of over one million tonnes of cargo annually by the end of 2025. Initial operations will focus on the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Barak rivers, as well as the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route, transporting bulk and break-bulk cargo across northern, eastern, and northeastern India. The partnership plans to gradually expand to other national waterways.
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal highlighted the environmental and economic benefits of this initiative, emphasizing the creation of a “greener, cost-effective, and efficient logistics network.” Rhenus’s expertise in European inland navigation and its global fleet of over 1,100 barges will be leveraged to bring international best practices to India.
This development underscores the rapid growth of India’s inland waterways sector. The number of operational national waterways has increased from three in 2014-15 to 24 by 2023-24, with a target of 29 by 2024-25. Cargo movement has also surged dramatically, from 30 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) in 2014-15 to 133 MMTPA in 2023-24. Currently, 14,500 km of navigable waterways span 111 declared national waterways, signifying the sector’s growing importance in India’s multimodal logistics framework.
First Piper 