Amazon India breaks waves, partnering with inland waterways for shipment

Amazon unveils Ganga express by transforming E-commerce with river-based deliveries in India

Amazon is set to utilise inland waterways for shipping customer packages in India, aiming to leverage cost-effective and eco-friendly transportation methods for deliveries. The e-commerce giant formalised this initiative on Wednesday by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), operating under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways. This announcement was released in a blog by Amazon.

Amazon India is diversifying its supply chain by incorporating navigable inland waterways, encompassing rivers, canals, backwaters, and creeks, totaling approximately 14,500 km.

The collaboration aims to streamline the transportation of containerized cargo through the establishment of a comprehensive network for inland waterways cargo shipment along the river Ganga. A pilot program is set to commence on the water route connecting Patna and Kolkata, supported by IWAI and its carriers.

As per a World Bank Report, water transport stands out as an exceptionally environmentally-friendly mode of transportation, utilising significantly less fuel in comparison to rail and road options—18.5% and 91.6% less, respectively.

“This MoU with Amazon India marks a significant step towards harnessing the potential of India’s inland water transport. Our focus is on increasing cargo movement through river systems, which is a more sustainable and economical mode of transport,” said Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Government of India in a statement released by Amazon.

The statement further says that the IWAI-Amazon partnership also aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to increase utilisation of inland waterways as an economical and sustainable mode of transportation.

Sarbananda Sonowal also congratulates the successful Amazon India – IWAI partnership, “I congratulate Amazon India in their endeavour to collaborate with IWAI to create a waterways transportation solution. This initiative is a reflection of the importance of sustainable logistics solutions in India’s rapidly expanding e-commerce sector.”

The press release by the Indian bureau said, “The collaboration between Amazon India and IWAI is another step towards realising the Prime Minister’s Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 of enhancing inland waterways as an affordable and sustainable mode of transportation and promoting cargo movement and transportation of customer shipments/products through Inland Water Transport using National Waterway-1 (Ganga).

To accelerate water transport within the country, Sagarmala has embarked upon 113 projects worth Rs. 7,030 Crores related to RoRo/RoPax and Inland Water Transport. Out of these projects, 15 projects worth Rs. 1,100 Crores have been completed and 32 projects worth Rs. 3,900 crores are under implementation.”

With this, Amazon becomes the first e-commerce company to work with the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) to facilitate cargo shipments on Indian waters like river the Ganga.