New Delhi | Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday said the government is planning to construct a world-class cruise terminal in Varanasi for the expansion of river cruise tourism in the city.

Addressing an event organized for the upcoming Global Maritime India Summit 2023, the Ports, Shipping and Waterways minister further elaborated on the government's commitment to create a sustainable and modern maritime ecosystem.

He said India is pioneering in the river cruise tourism sector with the world's longest river cruise, MV Ganga Vilas, which completed its maiden voyage in Dibrugarh, Assam in February this year.

"We are creating a viable ecosystem and modernizing all the ports across the country be it for cargo movement, transportation of goods or reduction of costs," Sonowal said.

According to Sonowal, with the PM Gati Shakti initiative, the government has achieved a groundbreaking milestone in waterways-centric transport, doubling the multimodal freight share to 12 per cent and reducing logistics cost.

Anchored by the Inland Waterways Authority of India, the roadshow served as a precursor to the 3rd Global Maritime India Summit, 2023 (GMIS) slated to occur between October 17th and October 19th, 2023.