Sonowal to open 'PM Gati Shakti Multimodal Waterways Summit' at Varanasi

Union Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will preside over the inauguration of the 'PM Gati Shakti Multimodal Waterways Summit' at Varanasi on November 11.

The event, being organised by the Indian Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) under the aegis of the Union ministry of ports, shipping and waterways, aims to generate greater public awareness about the 'PM Gati Shakti National Masterplan' with focus on infrastructure development in the waterways. The event will be organised over two days -- November 11 and 12 -- at the Deendayal Hastkala Sankul (Trade Centre and Museum) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

The Union minister and former Assam chief minister will also unveil seven inauguration stones and lay eight foundation stones of Community Jetties on NW-1 (River Ganga) at Ravidas Ghat, Varanasi before the summit gets underway.

Speaking about the PM Gati Shakti National Masterplan and the Multimodal Waterways Summit, on Wednesday, Sonowal said, "The government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is committed to the idea of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas'. The PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) is a transformative approach for improving logistics efficiency and reducing logistics cost to ensure first and last-mile connectivity for seamless movement of people and goods."

"The MOPSW had identified 101 projects, estimated to cost around Rs. 62,627 crores, under GatiShakti NMP. The aim is to complete these projects by 2024 while the target for completing nine high-impact projects, which are to come up at a cost of Rs. 1,913 crores, is by the end of this fiscal year," he said.

Sanjay Bandopadhyaya. chairman, IWAI said, "The summit will provide a networking platform for key stakeholders from central government and state governments, industry and think tanks to share and discuss the national master plan. Senior officials from relevant ministries and departments, port authorities, sector experts and stakeholders from the private sector will be in attendance."

Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan aims at building infrastructure for multimodal connectivity to various SEZs and enhancing logistical efficiency.

The plan aims at integrating the implementation of all existing and proposed infrastructure development initiatives to support faster and efficient movement of people and goods.