THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

GUWAHATI, MARCH 5, 2026

In a landmark step toward strengthening inland waterway infrastructure, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stones for India’s first riverine lighthouses along the Brahmaputra River, marking a pioneering initiative to enhance navigation safety and tourism along the country’s inland waterways.

The ceremony, held at Lachit Ghat in Guwahati, was jointly organised by the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships and the Inland Waterways Authority of India under the aegis of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

Four river lighthouses will be built at Bogibeel, Pandu, Silghat, and Biswanath Ghat, located at strategic points along the National Waterway‑2. The project, with a combined outlay of about ₹84 crore, will see each lighthouse rise to a height of 20 metres with a geographical range of 14 nautical miles and a luminous range of 8–10 nautical miles. Fully powered by solar energy, the facilities will also include museums, amphitheatres, cafeterias, children’s play areas, souvenir shops and landscaped public spaces, transforming them into tourism hubs in addition to navigation aids.

The initiative comes amid a significant surge in cargo movement on the Brahmaputra waterway, with the Inland Waterways Authority of India recording a 53 percent rise in freight traffic on NW-2 during the financial year 2024–25. The river corridor has increasingly become vital for transporting tea, coal and fertilisers across Assam, while also supporting passenger and tourism services.

 “Under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, inland waterways are not merely an alternative to roadways and railways but they are being energised and enabled as force multiplier for our economy. A tonne of freight moved by water costs a fraction of what road transport demands, generates a fraction of the carbon, and frees our highways for passengers and time-sensitive goods. These lighthouses on the Brahmaputra are a statement of intent: that India’s rivers are open for business, round the clock,” said Sonowal.

The event was attended by Ranjeet Kumar Dass, Charan Boro, Jayanta Mallabaruah, Bijuli Kalita Medhi, and Siddhartha Bhattacharya, along with senior officials including Vijay Kumar and N. Muruganandam.

 “Waterways offer a decisive cost advantage. Moving a tonne of cargo by inland waterway costs roughly one-third of road transport and half of rail. For a region like Northeast India, where road infrastructure is perpetually under pressure from both traffic and terrain, activating the Brahmaputra as a full-scale freight corridor is not a choice but a necessity. For far too long, this remained ignored by the Congress, leading to lack of opportune utilisation of our biggest asset, Brahmaputra. Under PM Modi ji, there has been an earnest attempt to realise this opportunity and convert this majestic river as true carrier of Assam’s hopes and aspirations. Towards this end, the upcoming lighthouses are the crucial innovation of that activation,” Sonowal added.

The project emerged from an initiative by the Minister’s Office to explore the feasibility of river lighthouses in the Northeast. A Memorandum of Understanding between Inland Waterways Authority of India and the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships was signed on April 8, 2025, followed by the transfer of project sites under Right of Use agreements in June 2025 after approval from the Central Advisory Committee for Aids to Navigation. Each lighthouse is expected to be completed within 24 months of contract award.

 “As traffic on NW-2 grows, the environmental and congestion benefits compound — fewer emissions, less road wear, lower accident risk, and a more resilient supply chain for the Northeast. The Deepstambh lighthouses will make night navigation safe and reliable, removing the single largest barrier to round-the-clock waterway operations,” added Sonowal.

The Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships currently manages navigation aids across India’s 11,098-km coastline and is expanding its mandate to inland waterways. Meanwhile, the Inland Waterways Authority of India oversees a national network of more than 20,000 km of waterways.

Stretching 891 km from Dhubri in West Bengal to Sadiya, National Waterway‑2 remains the longest navigable waterway in the country. Officials say the four lighthouses mark the beginning of a broader initiative to equip India’s inland waterways with navigational safety infrastructure comparable to that on its coastlines.