Bangla’s Mongla port serves as transit point in trial run

As part of a trial run, Assam-bound goods from Kolkata port were ferried to Tripura via Bangladesh's Mongla port this week, opening a new avenue of India-Bangladesh cooperation. A senior official of Tripura's Industries and Commerce Department said that containerised cargo with pre-foam (in 270 cartons) reached Srimantapur Integrated Checkpost (ICP) from Kolkata's Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMP) via Bangladesh's Mongla port. The goods were transported to western Tripura's Srimantapur ICP from Mongla port by road then moved to its destination in Silchar in southern Assam. The trial run was conducted before the implementation of an agreement on the use of Bangladesh's Chittagong and Mongla ports by India for trade and transport involving the mountainous North-eastern states. India and Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding in June 2015 for the use of Chattogram and Mongla ports to facilitate transit of Indian goods through Bangladesh. Subsequently, the two countries have signed an agreement on the use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for movement of goods, and a Standard Operating Procedure (for operationalising the agreement) was signed in October 2019. Four entry and exit points are provided in the agreement - Agartala and Srimantapur (Tripura), Sutarkandi (Assam) and Dawki (Meghalaya). At present, only 25 goods are allowed for export, but all products are allowed for import from Bangladesh through Srimantapur ICP. The annual volume of trade of Srimantapur ICP is of Rs 136.2 million. Considering the demand for fish import, the Central government has taken initiative to make available services of Animal Quarantine in Srimantapur ICP so that import of fish through this ICP materialises, the official said. See also: Adani Ports inks MoU with AD Ports for Tanzania venturesAssam greenlights turning state into logistics hub