Pradip Dutta Roy

On September 21, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed Silchar MP Kanad Purkayastha through a letter that a Detailed Feasibility Study (DFS) for the Silchar Multimodal Logistics Park (MMLP) is likely to begin shortly. The process of appointing a consultant for the study is being initiated. The study will specifically assess the possibility of providing external rail and road connectivity to the proposed MMLP, and further steps regarding the project will be decided on the basis of the findings of the study.

The Silchar MP certainly deserves appreciation for pursuing the matter. However, the larger question is this: nearly eight years have passed since the Inland Waterways Authority of India identified Silchar as an important location for setting up a multimodal logistics park in 2018. During this period, we have heard various promises and political statements regarding the project. Yet, in 2026, we are once again hearing about a feasibility study. It is therefore natural that confusion has arisen over the status and future of the project.

The History of the Silchar MMLP

Around 2017–18, a preliminary feasibility study by the Inland Waterways Authority of India proposed Silchar and Jogighopa as two separate logistics hubs for the Northeast.

The study indicated that Jogighopa could serve a large geographical area covering North Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Bhutan. Silchar, on the other hand, was identified as a potentially important logistics hub for the Barak Valley of southern Assam, Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram.

For Silchar, National Waterway-16 on the Barak River, and for Jogighopa, National Waterway-2, were envisaged as important foundations for cargo transportation.

Another study followed. A study relating to the North East Economic Corridor, supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), also recognised Silchar as a potential location for an MMLP. Among the special advantages identified for Silchar were:

• Road connectivity
• Railway connectivity
• Air connectivity
• The Barak River and National Waterway-16
• Connectivity with the Bangladesh border
• Connectivity towards Manipur and Myanmar
• Regional connectivity with Tripura and Mizoram

Subsequently, in 2020, the feasibility study for the Silchar project was initiated. On December 25, 2020, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced the construction of an MMLP at Silchar. It was also stated that the Assam Government would provide around 200 bighas of land at Harinchhara village for the project.

Up to this point, everything appeared to be progressing smoothly. But thereafter, for reasons that have never been clearly explained, confusion began to surround the project.

According to reports in 2022, three possible locations—Salchapra, Sripur and Ghagharapar—were being examined for the project. But why was the earlier proposal involving land at Harinchhara abandoned? We never received a clear explanation.

In the meantime, we also saw the present MLA of Silchar, who was then the MP, pursuing the matter. A possible site at Barkhola was also inspected. Yet, ultimately, nothing concrete emerged.

In 2025, the Central Government informed the Rajya Sabha that out of 35 approved MMLPs, five—Jogighopa, Chennai, Bengaluru, Nagpur and Indore—were under development. Silchar did not figure in that list.

In 2025, the issue was also raised in the Rajya Sabha with the allegation that despite the preparation of a DPR, the Silchar project had effectively been put on the back burner.

Jogighopa vs Silchar

In 2017–18, the feasibility of both projects had been mentioned in the reports of the Inland Waterways Authority of India. Yet, in 2026, while Phase I of the Jogighopa project has already been completed, the Silchar project is once again entering the feasibility-study stage.

So, how did the Jogighopa project progress? Let us take a brief look.

The foundation stone of the Jogighopa project was laid on October 10, 2020. The estimated cost of Phase I was ₹694 crore. The plan envisaged integration of road, rail and air connectivity.

The Assam Government allocated around 190 bighas of land belonging to Ashok Paper Mill for the project, and in February 2021 a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Jogighopa Logistics Park Limited, was constituted.

Work on all three major packages of Phase I—roads, buildings and railway siding—started soon thereafter. In other words, in the case of Jogighopa, the process moved rapidly from land allocation to DPR preparation, tendering and actual construction.

While NHIDCL was preparing the DPR/feasibility report for the Silchar project during 2021–22, construction of Phase I of the Jogighopa project was already under way.

Not only that, development of the inland waterway component at Jogighopa also began in 2022. Around ₹64 crore was allocated for construction of the Jogighopa Inland Water Transport Terminal. The work was completed in August 2024, and the terminal was formally inaugurated by Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on February 18, 2025.

According to NHIDCL project information available in 2024, all major components of Phase I at Jogighopa—including roads, buildings, infrastructure, railway siding and the inland waterway terminal—had been completed.

Why Has Silchar Fallen Behind?

There is little in the ADB-supported study to suggest that Silchar lacked the potential to become a logistics hub. On the contrary, the study identified Silchar’s road, rail, air and inland waterway connectivity as among its major strengths.

What was required was a series of prompt decisions: identification of suitable land, connectivity with the railway and National Highways, making the inland waterway commercially usable, construction of a terminal, assessment of potential cargo demand, and creation of the infrastructure required for investment and operations.

It was precisely in these areas of timely and effective decision-making that the Jogighopa project moved ahead, while the Silchar project remained stuck at the study stage.

Since several years have now passed, a fresh feasibility study has become necessary to reassess the project in the light of changed circumstances. And the very issues mentioned above will once again have to be examined.

It is difficult to accept the argument that finding around 200 bighas of land in and around Silchar was an insurmountable challenge. At one point, land belonging to the Pachgram Paper Mill was also proposed for the purpose.

Therefore, one may reasonably infer that the lack of adequate political will, effective intervention and sustained initiative on the part of the local representatives and the State Government may have been among the principal factors behind the delay.

However, what picture will emerge from the new feasibility study remains unknown.

The more important question is this: even if the new study concludes that the Silchar MMLP has strong potential, will effective steps be taken to implement the project expeditiously, or will the process once again move at the same slow pace?

The implementation of a Multimodal Logistics Park at Silchar could play a significant role in the economic development of the Barak Valley and the creation of employment opportunities.

Therefore, it is the people who must create public awareness on the issue and put sustained pressure on elected representatives and the government to ensure that the project moves forward.

There is no alternative.

The views expressed are personal to the author. The author is an advocate at the Gauhati High Court.