Assam: Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Received First Over Dimensional Cargo at Numaligarh Jetty

GUWAHATI: At the Numaligarh Refinery jetty, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal accepted the first over-dimensional cargo (ODC) transported by water.

This is the first shipment that the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), the ministry's official agency for the nation's inland waterways, has hauled in support of Numaligarh Refinery Limited's (NRL) capacity expansion from 3 MMT to 9 MMT.

In Sonowal's presence, the MoU between IWAI and NRL to transport a total of 24 ODC and Over Weight Cargo (OWC) for NRL was signed last year.

Taking on twitter, Sonowal stated that, “Glad to receive the first Over Dimensional Cargo (ODC) for capacity expansion of Numaligarh Refinery at Numaligarh Jetty of

@IWAI_ShipMin. This is the first ODC to be transported via waterways on NW 2 (Brahmaputra) through Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route from Kolkata.”

He also added that under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ministry took on the responsibility of ensuring that this conveyance occurred quickly and without hiccups.

With the first ODC successfully arriving at the NRL after travelling a great distance by water, inland waterways will soon play a crucial role in accelerating the transformation of our region through an affordable, environmentally friendly, and sustainable mode of transportation. This will benefit both Assam and Northeast India, he added.

The first ODC was shipped by an IWAI ship, the MV-Marine 66, along the Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR) from Kolkata to the Numaligarh Refinery Jetty. The Diesel Hydrotreating (DHT) reactor's gross weight was 521 MT, but its net weight is 485 MT. This reactor has a diameter of 8.00 metres, a height of 8.250 metres, and a length of 31.5 metres.

The ODC departed Kolkata on March 18 and travelled across Bangladesh for almost three months before arriving at Numaligarh. In order to make this transfer successful, IWAI, with help from the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI), also deployed three dredgers at five places in Dhansiri since March.

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