To encourage the movement of freight across inland waterways, IWAI and Amazon Seller Services establish a memorandum of understanding.
All Story About “Amazon will now ship your packages across the Ganga river”:
An agreement was signed on Wednesday by Amazon Seller Services and the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) to increase cargo flow along the Ganga river. There are plans to start a trial program on the Patna-Kolkata waterway.
Amazon India and IWAI have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable containerized freight movement and create a network for cargo shipment on inland waterways(Ganga river), under the auspices of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways.
With this agreement, Amazon India is adding 14,500 km of navigable interior waterways—including rivers(Ganga river), canals, backwaters, and creeks—to its supply network.
With the January launch of Amazon Air, the company already has a specialized air cargo network in India.
In order to fully use India’s inland water transport potential, this Memorandum of Understanding with Amazon India is a critical first step. Our goal is to move more cargo through river systems, as this is a more cost-effective and sustainable form of transportation, according to Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal.
Why is water transportation considered a sustainable mode of transportation?
Water transportation is recognized as one of the greenest modes of transportation, using 18.5 percent less fuel than rail and 91.6 percent less fuel than road transportation, according to a World Bank report.
With 113 projects valued at ₹7,030 crore, Sagarmala was launched by the center to support water transport in India. Its primary focus is on inland water transport and RoRo/RoPax. Of these, 32 projects worth ₹3,900 crore are in underway, and 15 projects totaling ₹1,100 crore have been successfully completed.
The government has set high standards, saying that by 2030, inland water transport volumes should have increased by more than 200 MMT (million metric tons). In addition, they have a significant goal of exceeding 500 MMT by 2047, according to the official announcement.