India's First Riverine Lighthouses To Be Built On Brahmaputra

10 Mar 2026 CW Team

The combined project outlay for the four lighthouses is Rs 840 mn. Each lighthouse will rise to 20 metres and have a geographical range of 14 nautical miles with a luminous range of eight to ten nautical miles, powered entirely by solar energy. Every site will include a museum, amphitheatre, cafeteria, children's play area, souvenir shop and landscaped public spaces to develop tourism alongside navigational infrastructure.

The move follows a 53 per cent surge in cargo on the Brahmaputra in the financial year 2024–25 recorded by IWAI, and reflects the corridor’s growing role in serving Assam’s tea, coal and fertiliser industries as well as passenger and tourism traffic. The lighthouses will enable round the clock navigation, accommodate weather observation sensors and provide navigational aids required for sustained freight and passenger movement. Officials noted that moving a tonne (t) of freight by water costs roughly one third of road transport and half of rail, delivering environmental benefits through lower emissions and reduced road congestion.

The project evolved from a feasibility initiative and a memorandum of understanding signed between IWAI and DGLL on April 8, 2025, followed by right of use agreements in June 2025. Geotechnical investigation, topographic survey and detailed design will precede contract award and each lighthouse is expected to be completed within 24 months of award. DGLL will administer aids to navigation while IWAI will continue to develop waterways and terminals, and the lighthouses mark the start of a wider programme to equip inland waterways with coastal standard navigational safety.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal laid foundation stones for the country’s first riverine lighthouses on the Brahmaputra at a ceremony in Guwahati organised by the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) and the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). The four sites are Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district, Pandu in Kamrup (Metro) district, Silghat in Nagaon district and Biswanath Ghat in Biswanath district, positioned at strategic points on National Waterway-2. The combined project outlay for the four lighthouses is Rs 840 mn. Each lighthouse will rise to 20 metres and have a geographical range of 14 nautical miles with a luminous range of eight to ten nautical miles, powered entirely by solar energy. Every site will include a museum, amphitheatre, cafeteria, children's play area, souvenir shop and landscaped public spaces to develop tourism alongside navigational infrastructure. The move follows a 53 per cent surge in cargo on the Brahmaputra in the financial year 2024–25 recorded by IWAI, and reflects the corridor’s growing role in serving Assam’s tea, coal and fertiliser industries as well as passenger and tourism traffic. The lighthouses will enable round the clock navigation, accommodate weather observation sensors and provide navigational aids required for sustained freight and passenger movement. Officials noted that moving a tonne (t) of freight by water costs roughly one third of road transport and half of rail, delivering environmental benefits through lower emissions and reduced road congestion. The project evolved from a feasibility initiative and a memorandum of understanding signed between IWAI and DGLL on April 8, 2025, followed by right of use agreements in June 2025. Geotechnical investigation, topographic survey and detailed design will precede contract award and each lighthouse is expected to be completed within 24 months of award. DGLL will administer aids to navigation while IWAI will continue to develop waterways and terminals, and the lighthouses mark the start of a wider programme to equip inland waterways with coastal standard navigational safety.

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