For the industry of the landlocked North Eastern region, the decision of Bangladesh government to allow India access to Ashuganj port has come as a great relief, and especially for Tripura.
Ashuganj port, which is in Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh, is just 30-km from Agartala, the capital of Tripura.
If the access to Ashuganj port materialises, it will remove a deficiency that the industry of the region faces – lack of proper connectivity with the mainland, which deprived it of market linkages. “This is a very positive development for the North-East,” said ML Debnath, president of Tripura Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI).
The industry of Tripura is expected to reap the maximum benefits due to its proximity to the port. The state government is presently coming up with an export promotion park and if access to the port materialises, it would mean enhanced economic activity for the state as the transportation bottleneck to export products would go away.
According to Debnath, rubber, bamboo, food processing industry are expected to reap the maximum benefits once the access to Ashuganj port materialises. Also, he said some Bangladesh-based companies were “keen” to invest in Tripura. One such investment proposal in food processing sector had already been finalised, he said. The access to Ashuganj port would mean faster and reliable mode of communication with mainland India to import raw materials and machineries and export finished goods.
Movement of heavy and over dimensional consignments (ODC) for big projects has always been a problem in North-East due to its hilly terrains.
Recently, the ONGC decided to ship ODCs via Bangladesh for its upcoming power project in south Tripura. The Assam gas cracker project too is contemplating to take the water route via Bangladesh.
The agreement on providing access to Ashuganj port was reached in New Delhi during the recent visit of Bangladesh’s foreign minister Dipu Moni.
The joint statement stated that “both sides discussed designating Ashuganj as a new port of call under Article-23 of the Inland Water Transit and Trade Agreement as well as the use of Chittagong port by India.”
