Govt approves rail link with northeast India

The government yesterday approved construction of the Akhaura-Agartala dual gauge railway link project aiming to improve connectivity and boost trade between Bangladesh and India.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council or Ecnec approved the part of the project that falls on the Bangladesh side, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The Bangladesh project will cost about Tk 477.81 crore, of which it will provide Tk 57.05 crore, while the rest will come as a grant from India. 

The rail link will improve Bangladesh's connectivity with the north-eastern states of India, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told reporters after the Ecnec

meeting.

The rail link will open up the markets of the north-eastern states for Bangladesh and ease the transport of goods and people; it will also cut transport time and costs, he added.

The rail link is seen as a corridor of the Trans Asian Railway network and sub-regional connectivity, according to the railway ministry's proposal.

During Hasina's visit to New Delhi in 2010, the two countries agreed to lay the 15.54km railway link between Akhaura and Agartala.

A stretch of 10.54 kilometres of track will be on the Bangladesh side, while the rest will be on the Indian side. The railway tracks are estimated to be completed by 2017.

The foundation stone for the Akhaura-Agartala rail track was laid in July.

Land acquisition to lay the tracks has already started as funds have been released by the Indian government, said Harpal Singh, chief engineer of Northeast Frontier at Indian Railway. 

Currently, India and Bangladesh have four rail links with West Bengal, according to the Shillong Times. The 1,650 kilometre distance between Agartala and Kolkata will be reduced to only 550 kilometres once the new rail track is linked through Bangladesh.

According to Tripura Transport Minister Manik Dey, the Agartala-Akhaura railway project will provide a major boost to development of the economy of the north-eastern region of India and eastern Bangladesh.

Ecnec yesterday approved six new projects involving Tk 1,095 crore. Of the cost, Bangladesh will provide Tk 674.71 crore, while Tk 420.76 will come as project finance.