Dimapur, Jul 16 (IANS): Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that the Tizu Zunki River in Nagaland will be harnessed for economic development which will enable cargo and passenger transport.

Addressing an interactive session of the ‘Stakeholder’s Conference’ in Dimapur, the Union Minister said that Doyang River Lake in Nagaland would be developed with Community Jetties and Ro Pax Ferries, to boost tourism potential.

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio joined Sonowal to announce the development of Tizu Zunki (National Waterways 101) as both the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and the Transport Department of the state work together to study navigation feasibility.

Noting that waterways are the most economical, sustainable and efficient mode of transportation, Sonowal, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always given top priority to the inland waterways in the country as the viable alternative to develop an efficient and effective mode of transportation in the country.

“The government has been working towards enabling our rich resource pool of the country to escalate the growth trajectory of India to become one of the 5th largest economies in the world in less than a decade,” he said.

He said that the northeast region has a major role to play as the growth engine of India.

“The complex and dynamic mix of waterways of the northeast provides us an excellent opportunity to build on the nation-building momentum,” he said.

“We remain firmly committed and on track to provide impetus for the development of waterways of the region. I call upon all the stakeholders present here today like transporters, EXIM traders, business interests and vessel owners to utilise the opportunity provided by the revamped waterways of the region.”

Both the Union Minister and the Chief Minister called upon the youth of the region to train in maritime skills at the Maritime Skill Development Centre to avail employment opportunities in the marine sector.

In Nagaland, the NW 101 flows from Longmatra (Nagaland) towards Avangkhu where the feasibility study of IWT will be conducted by the IWAI.

This will examine from the perspective of fairway development, navigational aids, terminal with minimum infrastructure, skill development and vessel procurement.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways via the IWAI, has been working towards empowering and enabling the complex and dynamic waterways of the region.

The agency is working on multiple projects in this regard including the prestigious Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project, enabling the linkage of multiple National Waterways (NWs) like NW 2 and NW 16 with Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR), development of a fairway on IBPR as well as a declaration of Ports of Call among others.

Tizu River in Nagaland further flows into Chindown River (the third largest tributary of river Irrawaddy River), which is also known as Ningthi River in Myanmar at Htamanthi in Myanmar.

Chindown River further enters the Irrawaddy River - the largest river in Myanmar.

River Irrawaddy further drains into the Andaman Sea via the Irrawaddy Delta after travelling through river ports like Mandalay Chauk, Prome and Hinthada providing an alternative opportunity to use waterways for cargo movement from the northeast region of India to the international trade routes.