Tripura-Bangladesh seaport to be operational soon

The India-Bangladesh friendship bridge connecting Khagrachhari’s Ramgarh and the south Tripura district of India is expected to become operational soon, said Manik Saha, chief minister of India’s Tripura state.

He came up with the statement Sunday, a day after the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the Sabroom integrated checkpost (ICP) in Tripura.

The bridge named “Maitri Setu” was inaugurated in March 2021, but had not been functioning due to the absence of a land port.

At Saturday’s virtual inauguration event, Manik said, “We are eagerly waiting for the ‘Maitri Setu’ to become operational. It will turn Tripura into the gateway to Southeast Asia.” Businesspeople and others from India’s northeastern as well as other states can easily access the Chittagong seaport through the new Rs 250 crore land port, he added.

Sabroom ICP is the largest of the three integrated checkposts in India’s Tripura and allows entry into Bangladesh through Ramgarh of Khagrachhari district. The land port stands at the mouth of the 1.9km “Maitri Setu”. Vehicles from India’s northeast will have to travel another 80km by road to reach Chattogram seaport.

The Bangladesh government has already announced that India’s northeastern states can get access not only to the Chattogram and Mongla seaports but also to the Chattogram airport.

With the use of the Chattogram and Mongla seaports, Tripura can reduce its distance to a seaport to 100km from the existing 1,700km needed to reach West Bengal ports.