India to Build First Riverine Lighthouses on Brahmaputra River

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation for India’s first four riverine lighthouses on National Waterway-2 (Brahmaputra) in Assam, costing ₹84 crore to boost 24×7 navigation and tourism. Located at Bogibeel, Pandu, Silghat, and Biswanath Ghat. These solar-powered navigation beacons are designed to enhance safe navigation around the clock, boost cargo movement, and promote tourism in Northeast India.

The four sites — Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district, Pandu in Kamrup (Metro) district, Silghat in Nagaon district, all along the south bank of the river, and Biswanath Ghat in Biswanath district, the only one in the north bank, — are located at strategic points along Brahmaputra (National Waterway-2), one of India’s most important inland cargo and passenger corridors. The combined project outlay for all four lighthouses stands at approximately ₹84 crore. Each lighthouse will rise to 20 metres with a geographical range of 14 nautical miles and a luminous range of 8–10 nautical miles, powered entirely by solar energy. Alongside navigation infrastructure, every site will feature a museum, amphitheatre, cafeteria, children’s play area, souvenir shop and landscaped public spaces, positioning each lighthouse as a tourism landmark as well as a functional maritime asset.

The commissioning of river lighthouses on NW-2 is a direct response to a 53 percent surge in cargo movement on the Brahmaputra waterway in the financial year 2024–25, as recorded by IWAI. Cargo traffic on NW-2 has been growing consistently and the Brahmaputra corridor is now integral to supply chains serving Assam’s tea, coal and fertiliser industries, in addition to carrying passenger and tourism traffic. The new lighthouses will enable 24×7 safe navigation, accommodate weather observation sensors and provide the navigational infrastructure necessary for the sustained growth of both freight and passenger movement on the river.