Numaligarh (Assam) [India], June 16(ANI): Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal received the first over-dimensional cargo (ODC) transported via waterways at Numaligarh Refinery jetty on Friday.

This is the first consignment transported by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), the nodal agency of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways in charge of inland waterways in the country, for the expansion of Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) capacity from 3 MMT to 9 MMT.

The MoU to transport a total of 24 ODC as well as Over Weight Cargo (OWC) for NRL was signed between IWAI and NRL last year in the presence of Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal last year.

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal said, "Today, Assam has witnessed a memorable event when an ODC was transported from Kolkata to Numaligarh using inland waterways. This is the true realisation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of transformation via transportation. While Modi's commitment to enabling Numaligarh to become an energy hub in the region, its capacity expansion in a relatively short duration of time would not have been possible without the smooth transportation of as many as 24 ODC and OWC meant for NRL expansion.""Given the thrust to empower the waterways of India, under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our ministry took it upon to make this transport happen in a swift and smooth manner. With the successful arrival of the first ODC at the NRL, traversing a huge distance via waterways, the role of Inland Waterways to empower the growth of Assam as well as that of Northeast India is imminent and I believe it is going to play a pivotal role in the rapid transformation of our region via an economical, ecological and sustainable mode of transportation," the Minister added.

The first ODC was transported by an IWAI ship - MV-Marine 66 - from Kolkata to Numaligarh Refinery Jetty via Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR). The Diesel Hydrotreating (DHT) reactor weighs 485 MT in net while the gross weight was 521 MT. The length of this reactor is 31.5 meters while the height is 8.250 meters along with a diameter of 8.00 meters.

The ODC left Kolkata on 18 March and reached Numaligarh after travelling for nearly three months via Bangladesh. IWAI, with assistance from the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI), also employed three dredgers at five locations in Dhansiri since March to make this transportation a success. These three dredgers are CSD Mandovi, CSD BrahminiHSD Jia Bhoroli. (ANI)