Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday said that the government was planning to construct a world-class cruise terminal in Varanasi for expansion of river cruise tourism in the city. Addressing an event organised for the upcoming Global Maritime India Summit 2023, the ports, shipping and waterways minister further elaborated on the government’s commitment to create a sustainable and modern maritime ecosystem. 

He said that India was pioneering in the river cruise tourism sector with the world’s longest river cruise, MV Ganga Vilas, which completed its maiden voyage in Dibrugarh, Assam, in February this year. 

“We are creating a viable ecosystem and modernising all the ports across the country, be it for cargo movement, transportation of goods or reduction of costs,” Mr Sonowal said. 

According to Mr Sonowal, with the PM Gati Shakti initiative, the government had achieved a groundbreaking milestone in waterways-centric transport, doubling the multimodal freight share to 12 per cent and reducing logistics cost. 

Anchored by the Inland Waterways Authority of India, the roadshow served as a precursor to the 3^rd Global Maritime India Summit, 2023, slated to occur between October 17 and October 19, 2023.