Agartala: The bridger over the River Feni, called the Maitre Setu, which connects South Tripura with Ramgarh of Bangladesh, is getting access to the Chittagong seaport, is now all ready to be open in a few months following the confirmation of the schedule from the Prime Ministers of both the countries, India and Bangladesh, respectively.
With the sanctioned cost of Rs 128.69 crores, the 1.9 KM long international standard bridge was started in the year 2017. However, the construction got delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The officials said that the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHDCL), the project execution authority has taken over the bridge, however, they will take a month to open the bridge for the movement of vehicles and goods. This will only be done after all the formalities, which also includes the rechecking the safety standard of the work.
A top official of NHDCL said that they are ready to dedicate the bridge for the nation only when the schedule of our Indian PM Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hassina match, and they both can be a part of the inauguration ceremony. The Tripura state government want the physical presence of both the Prime Ministers, in place of inaugurating the event virtually.
The deputy CM of Tripura, Jishnu Dev Varma said that the Maitre Setu is one of the biggest gifts of PM Modi to Northeast India, which would provide direct access to the seaports. This will further open up a new field of development for the Southeast Asian countries.
Currently, the only sea trade access point of Northeastern states is the Haldia port. Varma further said that the Maitre Setu will connect Tripura with Southeast Asia, and also boost the bilateral trades between the countries. Tripura will also become a trade hub and an investment centre for the Southeast Asian countries.