Union Government is intensifying efforts to develop the Brahmaputra as a multi functional economic corridor, with Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal promoting an integrated approach linking transport, trade, tourism and river management. The High Powered Review Board met in Guwahati where ministers and technical experts reviewed plans to strengthen scientific river basin planning, flood control and sustainable water use. The meeting urged adoption of technologies such as geographic information systems and hydrological modelling.\n\nOfficials said projects worth around Rs751 crore have been completed, including terminals at Pandu, Dhubri and Jogighopa together with floating jetties and upgraded shore facilities. These works amount to 7,510 million (mn) and ongoing works exceeding Rs1,100 crore total about 11,000 million (mn), covering fairway development, ship repair facilities and tourist jetties alongside a Regional Centre of Excellence in Dibrugarh. The government has launched a State Water Reforms Framework to strengthen sustainable water governance across states.\n\nThe government outlined a pipeline of initiatives valued at about Rs4,800 crore, equivalent to 48 billion (bn) or 48,000 million (mn), to finance community jetties, cargo vessels, dredgers and cruise terminals over the next five years. Plans include repositioning the Brahmaputra Board as a technology driven river basin organisation with digital governance and data driven monitoring. Officials noted cargo movement on national waterways rose from 18 million tonnes (t) in 2014 to over 218 million tonnes (t) in 2025-26.\n\nThe plan envisages development of 79 community jetties, expansion of the Regional Centre of Excellence in Dibrugarh and ship repair capacity at Pandu, together with supporting infrastructure for customs and immigration at strategic river ports to improve last mile connectivity. Procurement of dredgers, survey vessels and cargo fleets alongside urban water transport systems and cruise terminals is intended to improve navigability and logistics efficiency while technical challenges such as heavy sediment load, shifting channels and recurring floods will require integrated scientific management.