New Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS) Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal unveiled a Rs 1,500 crore development plan for the Puri International Cruise Terminal on Tuesday, to be taken up by the Paradip Port Authority (PPA) in partnership with the Odisha government, according to an official statement issued by the Ministry.
Addressing a Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting in Puri, the Union Minister said that the government aims to attract one million sea cruise passengers by 2029, through the Cruise Bharat Mission.
He also added that the Union government is working to double the share of coastal and inland waterway shipping in India’s freight movement from six per cent to 12 per cent by 2047 through the Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme.
The Union Minister said that the Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme and Cruise Bharat Mission are expected to create more than 5,60,000 jobs and save 16 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
“In the last 12 years under PM Narendra Modi, India’s maritime sector has undergone massive transformations,” Sonowal said.
“India has more than 11,000 km of coastline, a natural advantage for moving freight over long distances more cleanly. Coastal cargo at Indian ports has surged from 74 million metric tons to 177 million metric tons over the past 12 years, growth of about 140 per cent,” the Union Minister added.
“The Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme, announced in the 2026-27 budget, will offer incentives to cargo owners, coastal vessel operators and multimodal transport operators, who move cargo by more than one means of transport, such as ship, rail and road,” Sonowal said.
He added that sea cruises are also growing fast.
“In the 2025-26 fiscal year, India recorded 462,661 ocean cruise passengers and 212 vessel calls, a 5.5-fold rise in passenger traffic and a 2.1-fold rise in vessel calls since 2013-14. The Cruise Bharat Mission, launched in September 2024, targets 1 million sea cruise passengers and 400,000 jobs by March 2029.”
Twenty river cruise circuits across 16 National Waterways are already operating, and 51 more have been identified for development in phases.
Sonowal said that 143 river cruise terminals and landing points are operational.
He highlighted the development of National Waterway No. 5 in Odisha, estimated to cost more than Rs 13,000 crore. The waterway is meant to link the state’s industrial and mining centres, including Talcher and Kalinganagar, with ports on the east coast.
–IANS
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