Assam to ship methanol to Bangladesh via inland waterways: Official

Cargo vessels are expected to depart from Dibrugarh in Assam for Bangladesh, transporting methanol to the neighbouring country along the Brahmaputra river, an official said. APL Chairman Bikul Deka said the move would revive an export link from the eastern Assam town by water, a route he described as largely inactive since Independence.

He added that APL has leased two vessels from the state government’s Inland Water Transport Department for methanol exports to Bangladesh.

The APL is a state government undertaking that produces methanol and formalin, and was set up to utilise the huge reserve of natural gas in the eastern Assam oil fields.

“Another dream on the path to realisation. Since the British left, it is not known that any trade has been carried out through water transport via the Brahmaputra from Dibrugarh in independent India, nor am I aware of any instance of transporting locally produced goods through this route for trade,” Deka said in a social media post on Saturday.

According to him, the two Inland Water Transport Department vessels had been lying unused for about 30 years and were refurbished at Pandu Ghat in Guwahati to facilitate the shipment of the company’s methanol to Dhaka.

“This will open an avenue for cost-effective import-export route through the Brahmaputra,” Deka said, noting that the first vessel, ‘DLB Patkai’, has reached Bogibeel ghat in Dibrugarh. However, he did not specify when exports would begin.