India to Double Coastal Shipping Freight Share to 12 Percent by 2047: Sonowal Unveils Rs 1500 Crore Puri Cruise Terminal

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal has outlined the government’s plan to double the share of coastal and inland waterway shipping in India’s freight movement from 6 per cent to 12 per cent by 2047, and to attract one million sea cruise passengers by 2029. Addressing a meeting of the ministry’s Consultative Committee in Puri, Odisha, on Tuesday, Sonowal said the targets would be supported by two initiatives, the Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme and the Cruise Bharat Mission, aimed at strengthening maritime connectivity, promoting sustainable transport and generating employment.

The Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme, announced in the Union Budget 2026-27, will provide incentives to cargo owners, coastal vessel operators and multimodal transport operators who move goods through a combination of transport modes, including ships, rail and roads. The idea is to shift more freight off congested roads and onto India’s coastline and rivers, cutting logistics costs and emissions while making better use of the country’s long coastline and inland waterways.

The Cruise Bharat Mission, launched in September 2024, aims to attract one million sea cruise passengers and generate 400,000 jobs by March 2029. As part of that push, Sonowal announced plans to develop the Puri International Cruise Terminal at an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore. The project will be undertaken by the Paradip Port Authority in partnership with the Odisha government, and is expected to strengthen Odisha’s maritime tourism infrastructure and open up opportunities to attract international cruise operators and tourists to the state’s coastline.

Sonowal said that in the last 12 years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s maritime sector has undergone a massive transformation, and that the country’s coastline and rivers are being turned into engines of growth. The minister’s roadmap treats coastal shipping not as a niche mode of transport but as a central part of India’s freight system, with the share of waterways in total freight movement set to double over the next two decades as infrastructure, incentives and cruise capacity come together.

For coastal states and port cities, the plan carries direct benefits: cheaper freight movement for businesses, new tourism and hospitality jobs around cruise terminals, and cleaner transport as cargo moves from road to sea and river. The Puri terminal is the flagship project of this phase, giving Odisha a dedicated international cruise gateway, while the Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme is designed to make waterways a practical everyday choice for cargo owners across the country. The plan will be watched closely as the Puri terminal and the cargo incentives move from announcement to implementation.