New Delhi: A distinguished 1995-batch IAS officer, Shri Sushil Kumar Lohani has officially assumed charge as the new Chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India(IWAI), the statutory body under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways responsible for developing and regulating the country’s inland navigation network.
Following his takeover, Shri Lohani called on Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shri Sarbananda Sonowal to discuss strategic priorities and outline a comprehensive roadmap to elevate the organization’s operational footprint and overall impact.
During their high-level meeting, Union Minister Shri Sonowal and Chairman Shri Lohani focused on expanding the role of river systems within the broader national logistics ecosystem. The IWAI plays a crucial role in surveying and assessing rivers, canals, and backwaters to build modern navigable channels, terminals, jetties, and digital navigation systems. A major strategic priority remains the facilitation of heavy cargo movement—including coal, fly ash, cement, food grains, containers, and automobiles—by shifting freight off congested rail and road networks and onto cost-effective water transit routes.
To maximize these efforts, the leadership discussed strengthening multimodal logistics connections, ensuring that river routes seamlessly link with sea ports, rail lines, highways, and inland cargo hubs. Because changing river morphology and sedimentation constantly alter water channels, the authority continues to prioritize ongoing fairway maintenance through hydrographic surveys, channel marking, and strategic maintenance dredging to keep key routes navigable year-round.
In addition to industrial freight, the discussion highlighted the growth of passenger transit, Ro-Pax services, and river cruise tourism on key waterways such as the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and National Waterway 3 in Kerala. Through close coordination with state governments, central ministries, port authorities, and private industry partners, the new leadership aims to enforce high safety and operational standards while establishing India’s inland waterways as a primary engine for sustainable economic growth.
The appointment of Shri Sushil Kumar Lohani as Chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) brings direct benefits to Odisha’s water transport and logistics ecosystem. As a 1995-batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre, Shri Lohani possesses deep administrative experience in the state, having served as District Collector across key districts such as Sambalpur, Balangir, and Kendujhar, alongside he headed major Departments like, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water, Excise, Finance (GST) and several others.
Odisha is strategically positioned to gain through several concrete operational channels: Faster Progress on National Waterway 5 (NW-5)
National Waterway 5, which spans the East Coast Canal, Matai River, Dhamra River, Kharsua River, and the Mahanadi Delta system, connects key industrial clusters like Talcher, Kalinganagar, and Geonkhali to deep-water ports at Paradeep and Dhamra. Shri Lohani’s ground-level understanding of Odisha’s industrial belt and mineral logistics can accelerate dredging, fairway development, and last-mile connectivity projects along NW-5.