Agartala, Oct 31 (PTI) The Tripura government has proposed the Centre for setting up one more multi-modal logistics hub in the state to boost trade between Bangladesh and India, an official said on Monday.
The proposal to establish such a facility at Udaipur in Gomati district has been sent to the central government, state transport department’s special secretary Sandeep Rathod told reporters here.
Work is in full swing for establishing the state’s first multi-modal logistics hub in South Tripura’s Sabroom, where a special economic zone (SEZ), an integrated check-post, and a food park will be set up for promoting trade and business with Bangladesh, he said.
In addition, the state government has already proposed the Centre for setting up another multi-modal logistics hub in Udaipur on the bank of Gomati river as the Sonamura-Daudkandi route has already been declared as ‘protocol route’ for inland waterway, Rathod said.
Around 20 acre of land has already been identified for the proposed project, while a process has been initiated to identify 30 acre more, he said.
Road, railway, waterway and airway will be constructed for the proposed project to facilitate trade, commerce and tourism, the state transport department official said.
According to Rathod, the main objective is to connect Ashuganj, Chittagong and Kolkata ports with Kaladan multimodal transit facility through Myanmar’s Sittwe port.
If direct connectivity is established with Kaladan multimodal transit point, the whole market of South-East Asian nations will be opened for Tripura, he explained.
Rathod also said the state government has sought an extension from Sonamura to Maharani via Udaipur for a proposed waterway to Bangladesh’s Daudkandi.
The Ministry of Shipping has already sanctioned Rs 24.52 crore for setting up nine floating jetties. It has floated a tender for taking up dredging in the Gomati river to operationalise the route, he said.
The state government is also exploring the feasibility of setting up a trans-trade centre in South Tripura’s Sabroom.
“A hydrographic survey on the Feni river will be carried out to ascertain the water level before pushing for the plan,” the official said.
This will be, in addition, to the multi-modal logistics hub in Sabroom, the state’s southernmost border town, he said.