Guwahati, Nov 21 : The Central government has sanctioned more than Rs 1,100 crore for the development of 25 inland waterways projects in the northeast region, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Tuesday. Sonowal gave instructions to officials to give high priority to important projects within his ministries in the Northeast and to make sure they are finished by January 2024. On Tuesday, the Union Minister was presiding over a review meeting concerning ongoing initiatives from his ministries in the northeast in Guwahati. According to Sonowal, 15 projects totaling Rs 850 crore were awarded for Assam out of the 25 inland waterways projects in the region. He told his officials to complete building the seven floating jetties in the Assam towns of Jogighopa, Pandu, Biswanath, Nimati, Bindhakata, Uriamghat, and Sadiya. The minister added that one permanent jetty being built at Sonamura in Tripura was probably going to be finished in time, along with permanent jetties at Bogibeel in Assam's Dibrugarh district and repair work of a jetty at Badarpur in Karimganj. He also reviewed the work status of 15 jetties in the Barak river and 15 floating jetties in the Brahmaputra River. In order to guarantee ship access, he also gave officials of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) instructions to dredge 88 designated shallow passages on the Brahmaputra River routinely. /IANS