India Bangladesh launched three India-assisted development projects, two of which are expected to boost trade and improve connectivity with the Northeastern states.
India Bangladesh Open Rail Link, Power, Port Projects
The three projects are the Akhaura Agartala Rail Link, Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line; and Unit 2 of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant.
Akhaura Agartala Rail Link Project: This is the first rail link from India’s northeastern states to Bangladesh.
It has been executed under Government of India grant assistance of Rs 392.52 crores extended to Bangladesh.
The length of the rail link is 12.24 km with a 6.78 km dual gauge rail line in Bangladesh and 5.46 km in Tripura.
Significance: Lesser travel time. The travel time will be cut to 12 hours from the earlier, much longer 38 hours.
With the Akhaura- Agartala cross-border rail link operational, trains can run from Kolkata to Agartala via Bangladesh.
The neighbouring country is located in the middle of the land mass between India’s northeast and the rest of the country, connected only by a small corridor in Bengal’s Siliguri popularly known as the “Chicken’s Neck.
The Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line Project: It has been implemented under Government of India concessional line of credit with a total project cost of $388.92 million.
The project entails construction of approximately 65 km of broad gauge rail route between Mongla Port and the existing rail network in Khulna.
With this, Mongla, the second largest port of Bangladesh, gets connected with the broad gauge railway network.
Significance: It will boost the connectivity of Bangladesh with its three neighbours – India, Nepal and Bhutan.
The rail link will establish a connection between Mongla Port and Siliguri in India through Panchagarh and Banglabandha in the north.
Maitree Super Thermal Power Project
Location: Rampal, Bangladesh, developed on the bank of Passur River.
Capacity: 1320 MW
Financing: Concessional funding from India
Project Cost: The $2 billion
Built by: Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and the Bangladesh Power Development Board.
Comprehensive coverage with a concise format Integration of PYQ within the booklet Designed as per recent trends of Prelims questions हिंदी में भी उपलब्ध
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Comprehensive coverage with a concise format Integration of PYQ within the booklet Designed as per recent trends of Prelims questions हिंदी में भी उपलब्ध
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