PolicyShipping
Sonowal sets 2047 goal to double coastal and waterway share of freight to 12%
At a meeting of MPs in Puri, the shipping minister said a cruise terminal for the temple town is planned with the Odisha government, and that India wants one million sea cruise passengers by 2029.
Key points
- Coastal and inland waterways should carry 12% of India's freight by 2047, up from 6%.
- A Puri International Cruise Terminal is planned at a likely cost of ₹1,500 crore.
- The government targets one million sea cruise passengers by 2029.
India wants its coastline and rivers to carry twice their present share of the country’s freight, Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told a committee of MPs in Puri on Tuesday, setting a target of 12% by 2047, up from 6% now.
Sonowal was chairing a meeting of his ministry’s Consultative Committee on coastal and cruise shipping, attended by Minister of State Shantanu Thakur and eight MPs. “In the last 12 years under PM Narendra Modi, India’s maritime sector has undergone massive transformations,” he said.
A cruise terminal for Puri
The minister said the Paradip Port Authority and the Odisha government would develop a Puri International Cruise Terminal, likely to cost ₹1,500 crore. National Waterway 5 in Odisha, estimated at more than ₹13,000 crore, is being built to link industrial and mining centres such as Talcher and Kalinganagar with east coast ports.
Two schemes carry the push. The Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme, announced in the 2026-27 Budget, offers incentives to cargo owners, coastal vessel operators and multimodal transport operators. The Cruise Bharat Mission, launched in September 2024, aims for one million sea cruise passengers and 4 lakh jobs by March 2029.
The numbers so far
Coastal cargo at Indian ports has grown from 74 million tonnes to 177 million tonnes in 12 years, about 140%, the ministry said. In 2025-26 India recorded 4,62,661 ocean cruise passengers and 212 cruise ship calls. Twenty river cruise circuits run on 16 national waterways, with 51 more identified.
The ministry expects the two schemes together to create more than 5.6 lakh jobs and save 16 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. “Our coastline and our rivers are being turned into engines of growth,” Sonowal said, thanking the MPs for their “valuable insights and suggestions”.