Memorandum of understanding signed on inland waterways through barges

The Inland Waterway Authority of India (IWAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with India's Rhenus Logistics Private Limited on 6 May 2025. Image source: PIB

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To initiate barge services to transport goods to major national waterways, the Inland Waterway Authority of India (IWAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Global Logistics Large Logistics India Private Limited on 6 May 2025 (6 May 2025).

“As part of the MoU, Rhenus will introduce 100 barges in a phased manner on the national waterways, while 20 barges and 6 cartenders [are] “To be deployed in the first phase, targeting more than one million tons of cargo per year,” the Ministry of Transport and the Waterway said in a statement.

“Inland Waterways offers extraordinary opportunities to build a greener, cost-effective and efficient logistics network,” Union Minister Sarbnanda Sonowal said at the event.

First, Rhenus will operate on the Ganges, Brahmin and Barak rivers in India, the North, Eastern and Northeast, as well as the Indian Banglad Rivers Agreement Route, moving bulk and broken volumes (non-standardized, separate cargo) and gradually expanding to other national waterways.

By leveraging Rhenus’ expertise in inland European navigation and its global fleet of more than 1,100 barges, the partnership aims to bring global best practices to India. “The combination of promoters and barges suitable for low draft navigation will be used to transport bulk and retail goods,” the ministry said.

The number of national waterways operating in India increased from three in 2014-15 to 2023-24 with a target of 29 to 2024-25. According to the ministry, cargo transport has soared from 30 million tons per year (MMTPA) in 2014-15 to 133 MMTPA in 2023-24, with cargo transport increasing by 779 MMT of cumulative movement over the past decade.

The ministry said that currently, the 14,500-kilometer navigable waterway spans 111 national waterways, and the industry is ready to play a transformative role in the country's multimodal logistics framework.