51-km Ashuganj-Akhaura highway

4-lane road project to cost Tk 3,460cr

Project to facilitate transportation of people and goods to northeastern India

The 50.58-km-long road from Ashuganj river port to Akhaura land port will be developed into a four-lane one at a cost of Tk. 3,460 crore to facilitate transportation of people and materials to northeastern India. Construction of the road will cost Tk. 68.40 crore per kilometre.
This was revealed in a working paper of the Physical Infrastructure Division (PID) of the Planning Commission, which has recorded positive comments on the pre-development project proposal at its meeting, held on April 28.
The working paper of the PID on the road—to be built as a jointly funded project—will link Tripura's capital city of Agartala with Bangladesh's Ashuganj river port. It made some observations, which included some on the actual land that would be acquired to implement the project.
The project will be implemented under an Indian line of credit (LoC). Under the Prime Minister’s directions, a slow-moving lane has been included in the project. The Roads and Highways Division will implement the ambitious Tk. 3,460 crore project to develop the four-lane highway between Agartala and Ashuganj land port. Of this, Tk. 529.61 crore would come from the government; the remainder, Tk. 2,930.38 crore, would be provided by the Indian government to expand and improve the highway.
The 50.58-km-long road would have four lanes to carry heavy cargo and passenger vehicles bound for Agartala and other north-eastern states of India.
There is only a narrow land corridor connecting the north-eastern region to the rest of India through Assam and West Bengal, but this route passes through hilly terrain with steep gradients and multiple hairpin bends, making plying of vehicles—especially loaded trucks—very difficult.
Some 25km of the 50.58-km-long Ashuganj–Akhaura road is narrow and potholed. Besides, as many as 19 bridges and culverts along the stretch have become risky for the movement of vehicles. Akhaura is an upazila of Brahmanbaria district of Chittagong.
Agartala via Guwahati is 1,650 km from Kolkata by road and 2,637 km from New Delhi. But the distance between Agartala and Kolkata via Bangladesh is just around 350 km.
In 2012, Bangladesh allowed India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to ferry heavy machinery, turbines and over-dimensional cargoes through Ashuganj port for the 726 MW Palatana mega power project in southern Tripura.
According to the working paper, Tk. 77 crore has been allocated to acquire some 123.20 hectares of land to widen the road and develop the four-lane highway, including a slow moving lane.

51-km Ashuganj-Akhaura highway

4-lane road project to cost Tk 3,460cr

Project to facilitate transportation of people and goods to northeastern India

The 50.58-km-long road from Ashuganj river port to Akhaura land port will be developed into a four-lane one at a cost of Tk. 3,460 crore to facilitate transportation of people and materials to northeastern India. Construction of the road will cost Tk. 68.40 crore per kilometre. This was revealed in a working paper of the Physical Infrastructure Division (PID) of the Planning Commission, which has recorded positive comments on the pre-development project proposal at its meeting, held on April 28. The working paper of the PID on the roadto be built as a jointly funded projectwill link Tripuras capital city of Agartala with Bangladeshs Ashuganj river port. It made some observations, which included some on the actual land that would be acquired to implement the project. The project will be implemented under an Indian line of credit (LoC). Under the Prime Ministers directions, a slow-moving lane has been included in the project. The Roads and Highways Division will implement the ambitious Tk. 3,460 crore project to develop the four-lane highway between Agartala and Ashuganj land port. Of this, Tk. 529.61 crore would come from the government; the remainder, Tk. 2,930.38 crore, would be provided by the Indian government to expand and improve the highway. The 50.58-km-long road would have four lanes to carry heavy cargo and passenger vehicles bound for Agartala and other north-eastern states of India. There is only a narrow land corridor connecting the north-eastern region to the rest of India through Assam and West Bengal, but this route passes through hilly terrain with steep gradients and multiple hairpin bends, making plying of vehiclesespecially loaded trucksvery difficult. Some 25km of the 50.58-km-long AshuganjAkhaura road is narrow and potholed. Besides, as many as 19 bridges and culverts along the stretch have become risky for the movement of vehicles. Akhaura is an upazila of Brahmanbaria district of Chittagong. Agartala via Guwahati is 1,650 km from Kolkata by road and 2,637 km from New Delhi. But the distance between Agartala and Kolkata via Bangladesh is just around 350 km. In 2012, Bangladesh allowed Indias state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to ferry heavy machinery, turbines and over-dimensional cargoes through Ashuganj port for the 726 MW Palatana mega power project in southern Tripura. According to the working paper, Tk. 77 crore has been allocated to acquire some 123.20 hectares of land to widen the road and develop the four-lane highway, including a slow moving lane.