SMP stresses on reviving the inland waterways connectivity to Pandu, Assam and north eastern states

Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port holds the unique advantage of having rail, road, and inland water connectivity (NW 1 and 2) provides immense opportunities for stakeholders to use the port ecosystem to create a sustainable ecosystem for the transit of goods to and from the northeast via Indo-Bangla protocol route as a lucrative alternative to the chicken neck for connecting North East to have cost and time advantage.

With Pandu in Assam, set to host the delivery of the first consignment of foodgrains from Patna which was flagged off by the Minister of Ports Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal in the first week of February 2022, further boost in reviving the waterways infrastructure will help leverage the trade potential of northeast India.

SMP Kolkata Chairman Vinit Kumar held a trade meet on February 28, 2022 to engage and interact with investors and exporters/ importers to discuss solutions to the concerns highlighted by the trading community in the region.

The infrastructure development will not only boost the trade potential but also act as a catalyst to generate employment in the region while augmenting the industrial capabilities of the investors in NER, he noted.

SMPK and NE states have old trade ties; till 1965, tea used to originate from Assam via waterways to Tea Transit sheds and jetties of Kolkata Port and was exported from here. Even now, more than 1.5 lakh tonnes of tea are coming and getting exported. Hence. there is a lot of potentials to enhance this trade via waterways, Kumar noted.

Tea, Leather Items/ other Agricultural products - mainly exported through SMPK from NE Region while the main import cargoes are Machinery, Iron, Steel, Project Cargo etc, he added.

Kumar also shared the port’s plans focusing on the area including the upcoming terminal at Haldia which is scheduled to be operational soon.

The terminal is positioned to be used as the perfect platform for the movement of goods destined for the northeast and harness the potential of inland waterways to maximize trade value.

Apart from the existing cargo type, this also unlocks multiple avenues for transit of different commodities from rail and road to the waterways mode which is not only cost-effective but also environment friendly.

With extreme potential in cargo movement (including stone chips, fly ash, cement, limestone, coal etc.), the Port also plans to develop an integrated seamless end to end delivery infrastructure and organizational system, connecting not only Pandu, Silchar, and Karimganj in Assam, but also Tripura and Mizoram via Chattogram in addition to the development of cargo connectivity to Barak valley all the way to Sittwe in Myanmar.

Thus creating, an effective supply chain linking the North-Eastern states with BBIN and other countries on the eastern water grid-like Myanmar.
The discussion saw healthy participation of various companies, investors and participants from the business in addition to exporters-importers and other stakeholders.

Sonowal has repeatedly stressed the importance of the old relationship of the Kolkata port and North-East and focused on developing a robust ecosystem for the sustainable and cost-effective trade transit system.

The Minister has also shared earlier the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat by optimal utilization of NW1 and NW to encourage the movement of new types of cargo as well as infrastructure development under Gatishakti plan for multimodal connectivity and asset monetization.

The event which saw a healthy round of discussion with the industry laid down the stone for further interaction with stakeholders for the transformation of the logistics field in Eastern India.