Infrastructure Push To Bilateral Ties: Bangladesh To Unveil Three Major Projects Built With Indian Aid In September

Come September, Bangladesh will launch of three major infrastructure projects, including a power plant, all built under India’s financial assistance.

This was announced on Tuesday (18 July) after the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pranay Verma, called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her Ganobhaban official residence and discussed various issues.

The projects to be inaugurated include 660-megawatt (MW) Rampal power plant and two railway lines and would coincide with Prime Minister Hasina’s planned visit to India in September for the G20 Summit.

Earlier, on 15 July, the Adani group announced that it had commenced the full-load power supply to Bangladesh from its 1,600 MW ultra super-critical thermal power plant at Godda in Jharkhand.

Rampal Power plant

The project, in an area of over 1,834 acre, is situated 14 kilometre north of the world's largest mangrove forest Sundarbans — which is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Also known as Maitree super thermal power plant, the project has been built by Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company — a joint venture by India's state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation and Bangladesh Power Development Board.

The $2-billion project has been built with Indian development assistance of $1.6 billion under concessional financing scheme.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina had in September last year, jointly inaugurated the first 660 MW unit of the plant. The plant was formally declared commercially operational in December and started supplying electricity to the National Grid on 17 December.

Now, the second 660 MW unit of the Maitree thermal power plant is scheduled to be commissioned in September and will add depth to the bilateral energy ties.

The Rs 862.58 crore rail link from India's Tripura to Bangladesh, has been built under an Indian grant.

The 15.064-km railway line, will link Bangladesh's Akhaura, through an international immigration station at Nischintapur along the India-Bangladesh border, to the outskirts of Agartala.

The Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region is bearing the cost for laying the track on the 5.05 km link on the Indian side, and the cost of laying the 10.014-km-long track on the Bangladesh side is being borne by the Ministry of External Affairs.

As per the agreement between India and Bangladesh, IRCON, a public sector enterprise under the Indian Railways, has executed work on the Indian side, and Texmaco Rail and Engineering Limited worked on the Bangladesh side.

With the completion of the project, the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka would reduce from 31 hours to 10 hours.

The project was supposed to be over in 2020 but was delayed following land acquisition issues and the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Track

The 64.7 km Khulna-Mongla Port single track broad gauge rail project, will connect for the first time Mongla Port with Khulna by rail, and thereafter to Central and North Bangladesh and also to the Indian border at Petrapole and Gede in West Bengal.

Mongla Port was established on 1 December 1950, in Bagerhat district in the southwestern part of the country. The port is located at the confluence of the Pashur River and the Mongla River, 48 kilometre south of Khulna city.

The Khulna Mongla Port rail line costing $147.80 million is funded under a line of credit by the EXIM Bank of India, to enhance the trade through river mode between India and Bangladesh.

The project work began in November 2016. Initially, the project was scheduled to be completed within May, 2020.

With the opening of the rail service, trade and commerce with India, Nepal and Bhutan will be expanded. Due to the absence of a railway, there was a problem in transporting large containers of the port so far, said businessmen who use the port.