On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, jointly inaugurated three projects through virtual means. These projects include a crucial railway link connecting Tripura’s Nischintapur to Gangasagar in Bangladesh. Additionally, they unveiled the 65-kilometer Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line and Unit 2 of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant situated in Rampal, Bangladesh. Notably, all three projects have received support and assistance from India.
The cross-border railway project, which connects Tripura’s capital, Agartala, and Akhaura in Bangladesh, is expected to significantly boost cross-border trade and reduce travel time between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka. Prime Minister Modi emphasized the historic significance of the Agartala-Akhaura Cross Border Rail Link, describing it as the first rail link between India’s northeast and Bangladesh. Furthermore, a recent trial run of the 12.24-kilometer rail project (comprising 6.78 kilometers of dual gauge line in Bangladesh and 5.46 kilometers in Tripura) was successfully completed, with a train traveling from Bangladesh’s Gangasagar railway station to India’s Nischintapur railway station. The Khulna-Mongla rail link is poised to facilitate train operations from Mongla to various western destinations within Bangladesh Railways, as well as to Dhaka via Khulna and the Padma Bridge.
Bangladeshi officials have expressed intentions to use the rail line for the operation of freight trains to India’s Gede, Radikapur, Singhabad, and other destinations in Nepal and Bhutan. Furthermore, the 1,320-megawatt Maitree Super Thermal Power Project, implemented by the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Ltd., a 50:50 joint venture involving India’s NTPC and the Bangladesh Power Development Board, is located in Khulna division, Bangladesh, and represents a notable development in the realm of energy production.
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