Sarbananda Sonowal Receives First Over Dimensional Cargo For Numaligarh Refinery

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal received the first over-dimensional cargo (ODC) transported via waterways at Numaligarh Refinery jetty on Saturday. 

This is the first consignment transported by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), the nodal agency of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways in charge of inland waterways, for the expansion of Numaligarh Refinery or NRL capacity from 3 MMT to 9 MMT. 

The MoU to transport a total of 24 ODC as well as Over Weight Cargo (OWC) for NRL was signed between IWAI and NRL last year in the presence of Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal last year.

Sonowal said, “Today, Assam has witnessed a memorable event when an ODC was transported from Kolkata to Numaligarh using inland waterways. While Modi ji’s commitment to enabling Numaligarh to become an energy hub in the region, its capacity expansion in a relatively short duration of time would not have been possible without the smooth transportation of as many as 24 ODC & OWC meant for NRL expansion."

The first ODC was transported by an IWAI ship - MV-Marine 66 - from Kolkata to Numaligarh Refinery Jetty via Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR). 

The Diesel Hydrotreating (DHT) reactor weighs 485 MT in net while the gross weight was 521 MT. The length of this reactor is 31.5 meters while the height is 8.250 meters along with a diameter of 8.00 meters.  

The ODC left Kolkata on 18 March and reached Numaligarh after travelling for nearly three months via Bangladesh. IWAI, with assistance from the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI), also employed three dredgers at five locations in Dhansiri since March to make this transportation a success. 

These three dredgers are CSD Mandovi, CSD Brahmini and HSD Jia Bhoroli.