World Bank approves Rs 770 cr for Inland Water Transport department

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• Nov 9, 2021 | moderator

Guwahati: The Inland Water Transport (IWT) department has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Bank for a Rs 770 cr loan to develop river transportation in the state.

On Monday, Assam CM Sarma met Mr Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank in New Delhi. Sarma tweeted, "I am very happy and glad to share that we are taking Assam's partnership with World Bank to the next, & higher level."

He further stated that Assam & World Bank are exploring possibilities to work together on infrastructure schemes and the latest technologies.

The central government would refund 80% of the approved amount, and the state government would bear the outstanding 20%. 

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Assam chief minister flagged off four steel catamaran vessels at Pandu Port on Monday. The catamaran vessels were launched under a World Bank-funded scheme. So, these are to integrate high-quality passenger and vehicle ferry services into the state's wider transport network system.

Among the four vessels, two will provide service over the river Brahmaputra at Majuli and one each in between Guwahati-North Guwahati and Uzanbazar -Umananda ferry ghats.

These new vessels can carry 100 passengers. The vessels have high-level equipment such as monitoring, communication and navigation, GPS, wind speed, lifesaving, and firefighting tools.