ITC has become the second company after Amazon to use inland waterways for commercial transport, an official statement said on Saturday.
ITC Limited joined hands with Inland Waterways Authority of India to ship FMCG products through inland waterways using National Waterway 1, the statement added.
A vessel carrying eight containerized cargo of processed food items (Noodles) of ITC Ltd was flagged off from Kolkata to Patna on Thursday (March 14, 2024).
The vessel being used for cargo movement is MV Rabindranath Tagore which has a carrying capacity of 16 TEUs.
It is being operated by Inland and Coastal Shipping Limited (ICSL) which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shipping Corporation of India.
In November last year, IWAI signed an MoU with Amazon India Ltd and successfully facilitated the movement of its first e-commerce cargo through National Waterway 1.
Inland Waterways Authority of India is committed towards developing national waterways and make IWT a more viable mode of transportation, the statement said.
According to the statement, Under the Jal Marg Vikas Project, IWAI is developing National Waterway 1 (Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system) to improve navigation and facilitate smooth passenger and cargo movement.
As on February this year, total cargo movement on national waterways was recorded at 122.21 million tonnes which is 7.2% higher than the corresponding figures of last year. The collaboration between ITC Ltd and IWAI will pave the way for similar partnerships in future and open new possibilities for private sector to leverage the extensive inland waterways in India.