Guwahati, Mar 5: Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), Sarbananda Sonowal, laid the foundation stones for four riverine lighthouses along the Brahmaputra River, marking the first lighthouse infrastructure on an inland waterway in India. The ceremony was held at Lachit Ghat, Guwahati, and was jointly organised by the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) and the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
The four lighthouses will be constructed at strategic points along National Waterway-2 (NW-2): Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district, Pandu in Kamrup (Metro) district, Silghat in Nagaon district, all on the south bank, and Biswanath Ghat in Biswanath district on the north bank. The project, with an investment of approximately ₹84 crore, will feature 20-metre-high lighthouses with a geographical range of 14 nautical miles and a luminous range of 8–10 nautical miles, powered entirely by solar energy.
In addition to navigation aids, each lighthouse will include a museum, amphitheatre, cafeteria, children’s play area, souvenir shop, and landscaped public spaces, making them functional tourism landmarks.
The initiative comes in response to a 53% increase in cargo movement on the Brahmaputra during the 2024–25 financial year, according to IWAI. The river corridor plays a key role in transporting Assam’s tea, coal, and fertiliser, alongside passenger and tourism traffic. The lighthouses are expected to support safe 24×7 navigation, integrate weather observation sensors, and strengthen freight and passenger transport infrastructure.
Sarbananda Sonowal said, “Inland waterways are not merely an alternative to roadways and railways but a cost-efficient, environmentally friendly, and vital corridor for India’s economy. These lighthouses will ensure safe navigation and support round-the-clock operations on the Brahmaputra.”
The project follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed between IWAI and DGLL on 8 April 2025. Sites were formally transferred under Right of Use agreements in June 2025. Each lighthouse is expected to be completed within 24 months of contract award, after surveys and detailed design.
Officials present at the foundation ceremony included Ranjeet Kumar Dass, Charan Boro, and Jayanta Mallabaruah, ministers of the Assam government; Bijuli Kalita Medhi, MP; Siddhartha Bhattacharya, MLA; and senior officials from the MoPSW and DGLL.
NW-2 stretches 891 km from Dhubri in West Bengal to Sadiya in upper Assam, making it the longest navigable inland waterway in India. The four lighthouses mark the first step in a broader plan to equip India’s inland waterways with modern navigational safety infrastructure.
