Dibrugarh: For the first time since Independence, a cargo vessel is set to sail from Assam’s Dibrugarh to a foreign destination, reviving the city’s historic connection with inland waterways and international trade.
During the British era, cargo vessels operated by the East India Company sailed on the Brahmaputra through Dibrugarh, carrying goods to different parts of the country and abroad.
Now, after nearly eight decades, this historic chapter is set to be revived through the newly developed Bogibeel Inland Water Transport Terminal. The initiative has been driven by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal.
Methanol produced by Assam Petro-Chemicals Limited (APCL), Namrup, is planned to be transported from Dibrugarh to Dhaka, Bangladesh, through the inland waterway route.
Two vessels, each carrying 27 containers, have been prepared for the operation. Each container will carry 20 tonnes of methanol, giving each vessel a capacity of 540 tonnes and a combined capacity of 1,080 tonnes.
The vessels are expected to cover the approximately 783-km waterway from Bogibeel to the Bangladesh border in around seven days.
The Bogibeel terminal is now geared up for commercial cargo operations, with customs facilities, a jetty and a warehouse ready. A lighthouse and a Regional Centre of Excellence are also under construction.
Once fully operational, the terminal could provide an important waterway link for transporting products manufactured by Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL), petroleum products, coal and tea industry products to international markets.
The facility could also open up new opportunities for local farmers to market and export products such as Assam lemon, Bhut Jolokia and black pepper to international markets.
Dibrugarh was once a major centre of trade during the British period and was among the highest revenue-generating districts in the country. The revival of cargo movement through Bogibeel could once again place Dibrugarh on the inland-waterway trade map.
Meanwhile, Assam Petro-Chemicals Limited (APL) Chairman Bikul Deka, in a post on X, said that another dream is on the verge of becoming a reality.
According to Deka, he is not aware of any commercial activity from Dibrugarh through the Brahmaputra by inland water transport since Independence, after the British left, nor of locally manufactured products being transported commercially through this route.
He said that two vessels belonging to the Assam Government’s Inland Water Transport Department, which had remained unused for nearly 30 years, were taken on lease by Assam Petro-Chemicals Limited and repaired at Pandu Ghat in Guwahati.
The plan was subsequently formulated to export APL’s manufactured product, methanol, from Bogibeel in Dibrugarh to Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Deka said the initiative could pave the way for more economical transportation through the Brahmaputra and facilitate import-export activities in the days ahead.
“Today, our vessel DLB Patkai arrived at Bogibeel from Guwahati,” Deka said in his post.