Ashuganj River Port
Tk 10,000cr projects to facilitate transit
The Kolkata-Ashuganj-Tripura transit facility has become operational under the revised Inland Water Transit and Trade Protocol
JAGARAN CHAKMA
A number of projects worth over Tk 10,000 crore are being implemented around the Ashuganj river port to facilitate smooth transit facilities to India as well as to boost regional trade under the India-Bangladesh Bilateral Trade Agreement, according to officials of the Planning Ministry.
The ongoing project are the development of the Ashuganj-Akhaura road to four lanes at a cost of Tk. 3,460 crore, Bangladesh Regional Domestic Shipping Transport Project-1 with an outlay of Tk. 3,200 crore, the Akhaura-Agartala dual gauge railway link at Tk. 477.81 crore, and the development of Ashuganj River Port (cost not yet finalised).
The Kolkata-Ashuganj-Tripura transit facility has become operational under the revised Inland Water Transit and Trade Protocol between India and Bangladesh . It was signed during Indian prime minister Narendra Modis visit to Dhaka in June 2015. It was officially inaugurated on 16 June 2016.
As part of it, the first ship from Kolkata, carrying 1,000 tonnes of steel and iron sheets, reached the Ashuganj river port in Bangladesh.
The Kolkata-Ashuganj-Tripura transit facility, running through a land and river route crossing the Bangladesh territory, cuts the Kolkata-Agartala distance via Siliguris chicken neck from 1,600 km to 800 km. It has cut transportation costs from mainland India to the north-eastern states from USD 67 to USD 35 per tonne. As per the protocol, India pays transit fees of USD 192.25 per tonne, as negotiated between the two countries. In August this year, Bangladesh approved the construction of the Akhaura-Agartala dual-gauge railway link project aiming to improve rail connectivity and boost trade between the two countries.
The project, on the Bangladesh side, will cost about Tk. 477.81 crore. Of this amount, Bangladesh will provide Tk. 57.05 crore, while the rest will come from India as a grant.
The rail link will open up for Bangladesh the markets of Indias north-eastern states, smoothen goods transportation, and enhance people-to-people contact. The connectivity will also lower transportation cost and time.
The railway link might be considered a corridor of the Trans-Asian Railway Network and sub-regional connectivity, according to the railway ministrys proposal. In 2010, during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas visit to New Delhi, the two countries had agreed to lay the 15.54-km-long railway line between Akhaura and Agartala.
A 10.54-km stretch of the track will be on the Bangladesh side, with the rest of it on the Indian side. The laying of the railway tracks is estimated to be completed by 2017.
Besides, a 50.58-km-long road from the Ashuganj river port to the Akhaura land port is going to be developed into a four-lane one at a cost of Tk. 3,460 crore to improve the movement of people and goods to north-eastern India. The construction of the road will cost Tk. 68.40 crore per kilometre.
According to sources in the Planning Commission, the roadto be built as a jointly funded projectwill link Tripuras capital Agartala with Bangladeshs Ashuganj river port.
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. 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.
Meanwhile the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the Bangladesh Regional Domestic Shipping Transport Project-1, with an outlay of Tk. 3,200 crore, aiming to increase the safety of the Chittagong-Dhaka-Ashuganj river route for passenger and goods movement.
The World Bank (WB) will provide USD 360 million to Bangladesh to implement the first regional inland water transport (IWT) project, which is expected to improve inland water transport services on the Dhaka-Chittagong-Ashuganj regional IWT corridor. Of these, the Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Ashuganj corridors (with extensions to Narayanganj and Barisal) have been identified as high-priority routes for domestic trade and bilateral trade with India. The cargo terminal in Ashuganj, which is also connected by road to Indias north-eastern states, is a key facility for Bangladesh-India trade.
