UltraTech Cement Limited becomes India's first cement company to use inland waterways for gypsum transport
UltraTech Cement Limited is leveraging inland waterways to transport a large consignment of mineral gypsum via National Waterway 1 (Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system) in a pilot project that was flagged off by the Minister of Shipping, Ports, and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal at G.R. Jetty, Kolkata today. UltraTech is the first cement company in India to leverage National Waterway 1 for gypsum transport at scale.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Inland & Coastal Shipping Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), supported UltraTech's participation in the pilot. The consignment is being shipped from Haldia port in West Bengal to the Gaighat terminal in Patna, Bihar, and transported to Pataliputra Cement Works, UltraTech’s cement grinding unit in Patna district, Bihar.
The use of inland waterways over roadways and railways will result in significant carbon emissions reductions and help decongest roads and rail routes. UltraTech’s participation in the pilot provides a boost to the Central government's efforts to promote the use of inland waterways in the country.
K C Jhanwar, Managing Director, UltraTech Cement Limited, said, “Emerging and innovative transport solutions are a key lever in UltraTech’s shift towards sustainable logistics practices.The pilot movement over National Waterway 1 underscores UltraTech’s commitment to green logistics as an enabler to realise its Net Zero goal by 2050.”
In April 2023, UltraTech leveraged inland and coastal waterways to
