Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation

The BIWTC is currently struggling with a navigability crisis in key river routes that has reduced ferry trips and government revenue.

BIWTC was constituted under President's Order No. 28 of 1972 by absorbing the East Pakistan Shipping Corporation and nine private shipping companies; the order vested all their assets and liabilities in the new corporation. Headquarters: Dhaka. Parent: Ministry of Shipping (not a separate Shipping Division -- unlike BBA under Bridges Division, BIWTC sits directly under the Ministry). Current Chairman Md. Salim Ullah took office on March 6, 2025 per New Age reporting; earlier chairmen in the post-August 2024 interim period included SM Ferdous Alam (Maritime Gateway) and an interim appointment under Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain's shipping portfolio. staff_count omitted: no primary-source figure found in accessible public documents. annual_budget_bdt omitted: BIWTC's budget is embedded in the Ministry of Shipping allocation and not publicly disaggregated in accessible Finance Division documents. The Daulatdia incident of March 25, 2026 (26 deaths) is the most significant recent governance event: multiple independent sources (Al Jazeera, TBS, Prothom Alo, Jago News 24) cross-confirm the date, death toll, and BIWTC infrastructure failures. Probe findings (pontoon railings absent, mechanical bus failure cited) sourced from Views Bangladesh and TBS with the April 1, 2026 submission date confirmed by the Rajbari District Administrator. Fleet expansion sourced from BSS, Financial Express, and bdnews24 with consistent Tk 677 million cost figure. Verification: 2+ primary sources cross-checked for all key claims.