Bangladesh has not made much progress in the construction of a road to connect the highway linking the Chittagong sea port with the India- Bangladesh Friendship Bridge (Maitri Setu) over the Feni river in south Tripura.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had virtually inaugurated the bridge on March 9, the day Tripura’s incumbent BJP-led coalition government completed three years in office.
A team from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recently inspected the bridge, the ongoing work on the Integrated Check Post (ICP) and the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Sabroom and enquired about the progress of construction of the road in Khagrachhari district of Bangladesh that will ultimately connect the Chittagong sea port, just 100 km from Agartala.
The team was informed of slow progress of the work across the border. The Indian government is completely funding construction of the road like several other important bilateral projects.
India’s fund allocation also involved monetary compensation towards land acquisition in Bangladesh, officials of Tripura’s industry department said on Saturday.
The Bangladesh government had earlier declared its Chittagong and Mongla ports as ports of call to facilitate India’s international and domestic trade through water facilities in Bangladesh. During the virtual inauguration of the Maitri Setu, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a video message had said that the opening of the 1.9-km long bridge over Feni river would “herald a new chapter in relations between the two countries”.
Officials said India would follow up with the Bangladesh government to step up road construction work so that north-eastern States can benefit from the Chittagong sea port.
