On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurated three Indian-assisted development projects via video conferencing.
The three projects are the Akhaura-Agartala Cross-Border Rail Link, the Khulna – Mongla Port Rail Line, and Unit – II of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant in Rampal, Bangladesh.
The Akhaura-Agartala Cross-Border Rail Link project has been executed under Indian grant assistance of ₹ 392.52 crore extended to Bangladesh. The length of the rail link is 12.24 km with a 6.78 km Dual Gauge rail line in Bangladesh and 5.46 km in Tripura.
The Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line Project has been implemented under the Government of India’s concessional Line of Credit with a total project cost of USD 388.92 million. The project entails the construction of approximately 65 km of broad gauge rail route between Mongla Port and the existing rail network in Khulna.
The Maitree Super Thermal Power Project, under an Indian Concessional Financing Scheme loan of 1.6 billion US dollars, is a 1320 MW Super Thermal Power Plant located in Bangladesh‘s.
“The joint inauguration of these important projects manifests the firm friendship and collaboration between our two friendly countries. I would like to thank PM Modi for the warm hospitality during my visit in September 2023 to attend the G20 Summit,” Hasina said.
“I express my gratitude for your commitment to strengthening the bonds of friendship between our two countries,” she added.
Earlier in March 2023, PM Modi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline, a cross-border energy pipeline, built at an estimated cost of Rs 377 crore, of which the Bangladesh portion of the pipeline was built at a cost of approx. Rs 285 crore, which has been borne by the Government of India under grant assistance.
