Kolkata: Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday said the contract to connect Guwahati via inland waterways has been awarded and services will commence soon.
The jetty will be operational for exim and inland cargo from Haldia to Pandu terminal in Guwahati, connecting the northeast with Kolkata via the National Waterways-2, he said.
This will be an easy and cost-effective movement of cargo to and from the northeast to foreign countries and other states of India, Sonowal was quoted as saying in an official release.
To a question about barge financing, the minister said the government is mulling providing guarantees to banks for soft funds so that this sector can take off, the release added.