UltraTech Cement Limited, India’s largest producer of cement and ready-mix concrete, has initiated a pilot project to transport mineral gypsum using inland waterways. This marks the first time a cement company in India is utilizing National Waterway 1 (Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system) for large-scale gypsum transportation.
The pilot movement was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Minister of Shipping, Ports, and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, at the G.R. Jetty in Kolkata. Supported by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Inland & Coastal Shipping Ltd (a subsidiary of Shipping Corporation of India), the shipment is being transported from Haldia Port in West Bengal to Gaighat terminal in Patna, Bihar, and then delivered to UltraTech’s Pataliputra Cement Works in the Patna district.
Opting for inland waterways over traditional road and rail transport significantly reduces carbon emissions and eases congestion on existing routes. This initiative aligns with the Government of India’s push to promote waterways as an eco-friendly transport solution, as highlighted in its Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
K.C. Jhanwar, Managing Director of UltraTech Cement, emphasized the importance of sustainable logistics, stating, “Innovative transport solutions are central to UltraTech’s commitment to sustainability. Through this pilot project, we are proud to collaborate with the Government of India to encourage the use of inland waterways, furthering the goals of Maritime India Vision 2030 and achieving our Net Zero ambition by 2050.”
Earlier in April 2023, UltraTech successfully utilized inland and coastal waterways to transport 57,000 metric tonnes of phosphogypsum from Paradeep Port, Odisha, to its Gujarat Cement Works facility in Amreli, Gujarat—a first-of-its-kind initiative in India.
As the flagship cement company of the Aditya Birla Group, UltraTech is a USD 8.4 billion enterprise and the third-largest cement producer globally (outside China), with a Grey Cement capacity of 156.66 MTPA. The company is a signatory to the GCCA Climate Ambition 2050 and is committed to achieving Net Zero Concrete by 2050, guided by its Sustainable Supply Chain Framework.
