Dibrugarh is set to resume international cargo movement through the Brahmaputra river nearly eight decades after Independence. Two vessels carrying 1,080 tonnes of methanol will travel from Bogibeel to Bangladesh, marking the start of commercial operations at the new inland water port.
Two 30-year-old cargo vessels have been prepared for this historic journey.
Each vessel carries 27 containers, with every container holding around 20 tonnes of methanol. Together, the vessels will transport a total of 1,080 tonnes of methanol produced by Assam Petro-Chemicals Limited at Namrup.
The vessels will travel nearly 783 kilometres from Bogibeel to the Bangladesh border, and the journey is expected to take about seven days.
The Bogibeel inland water port is now commercially ready for international water transport.
The port complex includes a customs office, jetty and warehouse, while work on a lighthouse and a Regional Centre of Excellence continues. Poojan Kumar from the Inland Waterways Authority of India stated that the facility will open up wider transport routes for products from Assam.
Goods like petroleum, polymers, coal and tea-related products can be moved through the Brahmaputra.
The waterway can also create export opportunities for local agricultural products such as kaji nimbu, bhut jolokia and black pepper.
This development revives Dibrugarh's historical connection with river-based trade.
During British rule, the region was a major trading centre that used the Brahmaputra to send goods to destinations within India and overseas.
The new commercial cargo movement restores the Brahmaputra's role as an important channel for international trade.
