Tripura and IWAI signs MoU to boost Indo-Bangla connectivity

The Tripura government signed an MoU with the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) on Tuesday to set up an inland waterways terminal at Srimantapur in Sepahijala district, where a test run for Indo-Bangla inland waterways transport was held in September 2020.

The project is expected to help the state achieve its ambitious goals for waterways transportation, connectivity, and border trade with Bangladesh.

In a separate tweet, Sarbananda Sonowal said that Tripura's waterways have enormous potential and that the central government would conduct studies and hydrological surveys on the state's other rivers before taking further action to develop them, depending on feasibility.

CM Biplab Kumar Deb later said in a tweet that the double engine government in the state and at the centre is facilitating connectivity development in the NE region, praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's support for the project.

Tripura began export-import trade with Bangladesh in 1995. Tripura imports goods worth Rs 20,000 crore per year from Bangladesh and other Indian states. Bangladesh imports goods worth Rs 645 crore among these.Tripura, on the other hand, exports goods worth Rs 2000 crore, including rubber, bamboo, tea, and pineapple.

The massive trade deficit is the result of abnormally high import tariffs on the other side of the border, the absence of many commodities abundant here in the list of goods permitted for export, and port restrictions. With the newly launched inland waterways connectivity route with Bangladesh, the state government is hopeful of turning the tables, as the inland waterways route through Tripura could provide an alternative to the current arrangements of importing goods through Haldia Port in Bengal, which is 1,200 km away. The port of Chittagong in Bangladesh is much closer, at a distance of 600 km.

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