Ramgarh land port to be inaugurated this week

A land port in Khagrachari's Ramgarh upazila, around 99 kilometres away from the country's biggest sea port in Chattogram, is set to open this week, which is likely to boost trade and tourism between Bangladesh's southeast regions and India's northeastern states.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to virtually inaugurate the newly-constructed land port tomorrow, said Mohammad Jahangeer Kobir, member (traffic) of the Bangladesh Land Port Authority (BLPA).

Of the 23 land ports in Bangladesh, 22 are located along the border with India while only one, located in Teknaf, borders Myanmar.

The government declared the Ramgarh customs station as a land port in November 2010.

"Construction work to develop the necessary infrastructure, including immigration and customs house, are about to be completed at a cost of Tk 123 crore," Kobir said.

The BLPA met with their Indian counterparts to request fast construction of necessary infrastructure and they requested the Bangladesh government to offer immigration services, he said.

As a result, the Ministry of Home Affairs has given the nod to offer immigration services through the land port before other activities begin.

"We are ready to facilitate exports and imports through the port, but operations are likely to begin next April or June as India is constructing integrated checkposts in Sabroom of Tripura (in anticipation of the movement of goods)," Kobir said.

In March 2021, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi jointly inaugurated the Bangladesh-India Friendship Bridge-1 (Maitri Setu) over the Feni River in Ramgarh, which cost Tk 133 crore and was financed by India. The bridge connects Tripura of India with Ramgarh.

According to the BLPA, Bangladesh can export all kinds of products through the Ramgarh land port, with significant potential to import livestock, fruit, wood, seeds, wheat, coal and fertiliser.

The land port will improve trade and connectivity with Tripura while giving Indian exporters a scope to reduce their costs by shipping their products directly from the Chattogram port, said Mahbubul Alam, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) started widening the Bariyarhat-Heyako-Ramgarh road in Mirsarai in April to facilitate the transport of import-export goods through the Ramgarh land port.

The widening of this 38-km road from 5.5 metres to 7.3 metres cost Tk 1,100 crore, of which Tk 581.2 crore came from a third Indian line of credit. The rest was borne by the government.

The land port project has already been delayed by at least a year and a half as the Indian contractor demanded payment be 27 percent higher than initially estimated, said Pintu Chakma, executive engineer of the RHD's Chattogram division.

This required revisions of the project details and endorsements from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, he said.

With 20 percent of the work completed till October 20, 2023, the project is set to be completed by June 30, 2025, he added.

The port will play a crucial role in increasing trade and tourism, said Kujendra Lal Tripura, lawmaker of Khagrachari and chairman of Tribal Refugee Affairs Task Force (state minister status).

The land port will significantly bring down the distance required for travel from the northeast of India to the Chattogram port, he said.

India will also be able to use the Matarbari deep-sea port, noted Abdul Matlub Ahmad, president of the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Bangladesh's imports from India far outweigh the country's exports to its neighbour. Exports to India stood at $2 billion whereas imports from India amounted to $14.2 billion through official channels last fiscal year.