Varanasi, 22 Nov: Amazon India and the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), which is part of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to begin on a revolutionary journey in the delivery of customer parcels over inland waterways.
With this breakthrough, Amazon India becomes the country’s first e-commerce company to employ Inland Water Transport, underlining its long-term commitment to improving India’s transportation infrastructure. The engagement with IWAI is consistent with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s aim for increased use of inland waterways as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly means of transportation.
Amazon India and IWAI will collaborate under this MoU to allow containerized freight movement and to develop a network for the use of inland waterways for cargo shipment.
Amazon India will investigate inland waterways as part of its supply chain, and a prototype run on the Patna-Kolkata waterways will be launched soon with the assistance of IWAI and its carriers. This reaffirms Amazon India’s commitment to continue developing capacity to meet rising consumer demand and to engage with government officials on mutually beneficial e-commerce ventures.
“This MoU with Amazon India marks a significant step toward harnessing the potential of India’s Inland Water Transport,” stated Sarbananda Sonowal, Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Government of India. “Our priority is to increase freight flow through river systems, which is a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective means of transportation. I salute Amazon India on their initiative to work with IWAI to develop a waterways transportation option. This effort reflects the importance of long-term logistics solutions in India’s fast growing e-commerce sector.”
This strategic partnership between IWAI and Amazon India is positioned to boost cargo transportation innovation, sustainability, and efficiency, while contributing to India’s economic growth and development.
“We have taken many positive steps in recent years to build our fulfillment, transportation, and logistics infrastructure in the country. This MoU between Amazon India and the Inland Waterways Authority of India aims to create a game-changing product that will allow all e-commerce businesses to take advantage of the country’s huge inland waterways. We remain committed to our global mission of transforming the future of logistics, and we seek to harness the potential of the country’s rivers, canals, and other water bodies to improve logistics and transportation efficiency for the Indian e-commerce industry as a whole,” said Abhinav Singh, Vice President, Operations, Amazon India.
With the introduction of inland waterways, Amazon will be able to use all modes of transportation available in the country, including rail, air, water, and surface, to ensure faster, more cost-effective, sustainable, and reliable delivery of customer packages, as well as provide a wider reach to its millions of sellers.
