Centre of excellence on maritime skills in Dibrugarh to be ready by 2026: Sonowal
The ship building centre at Pandu will also be completed within this year, which will provide impetus to maritime sector in NE
File image of Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at Guwahati Dialogue Chapter 2 (Photo: @sarbanandsonwal/X)
Guwahati, Jan 3: The much-awaited Centre of Excellence on Maritime Skills, being set up in Dibrugarh, will be completed within 2026, said the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Sonowal said the centre would give opportunity to the youths of the region to acquire maritime skills and to get jobs not only in India but also abroad.
The maritime sector has lots of employment opportunities, both in India and abroad, but the youths of Assam and other states of the Northeast were deprived of the same because they did not have the skills required for such jobs.
But this issue will be solved once the Centre of Excellence becomes operational, he added.
The ship building centre at Pandu will also be completed within this year, which will provide impetus to the maritime sector in this part of the country.
Sonowal said that upcoming jetties, terminals, etc., would improve seamless movement of vessels in the waterways of the State, while new foreign barges would start operating in the State soon. He said that all these steps would improve movement of cargo, cruise and passenger vessels.
The Union Minister asserted that because of the keen interest taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Assam would become the number one State in the country.
He said that in 2026, the Central Government would give stress on quality and timely completion of all the ongoing projects in the Northeast region.
Sonowal said that Assam witnessed rapid growth in the tenure of the NDA Government at the Centre. “There was a time when people were scared to come to Assam because of extremism and bomb blasts. But the situation has totally changed now.
The Prime Minister took keen interest in solving the insurgency problem and almost all the militant groups have come overground and signed peace pacts with the Government,” he added.
Connectivity is the key for development of any area and that is why the NDA Government has laid stress on improving rail, road, waterways and internet connectivity in the Northeast, which would lead to accelerated growth of the region, he added.
He also said that the Northeast has been brought to the mainstream of India and the self-confidence of the people has also increased, said Sonowal.