Three inland waterways projects on Brahmaputra inaugurated

Key facts

• Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated three projects on National Waterway-2 (River Brahmaputra) on 27 February 2026 at Chowkidingee Playground, Dibrugarh.
• The projects comprise the Customs and Immigration Complex at Bogibeel, the Customs and Immigration Complex at Dhubri, and the renovated Heritage Building of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) at Dibrugarh.
• The Bogibeel complex integrates customs, immigration and IWAI administrative functions within a single tourist-cum-cargo terminal to facilitate trade under Indo-Bangladesh Protocol routes.
• The Dhubri complex is positioned as a strategic gateway for cross-border commerce with Bangladesh and Bhutan in western Assam.
• Under the National Waterways Act 2016, twenty rivers in the Northeast have been declared National Waterways, with Brahmaputra (NW-2), Barak (NW-16), Dhansiri (NW-31) and Kopili (NW-57) being actively developed.