Centre agrees to grant funds for Tripura-Chittagong sea port bridge

The Centre has agreed to fund the construction of a bridge over River Feni in South Tripura on National Highway 44, connecting the state to Bangladesh, Tripura chief secretary Yashpal Singh said. The bridge will connect Sabroom in Tripura to the Chittagong sea port in Ramgarh town of south Bangladesh. The bridge has become important for Tripura and other north-eastern states after Bangladesh allowed India to use the Chittagong sea port, only 70 kilometres from the southern town of Tripura. Easy access to the sea port will open up the south Asian market for Tripura and it will be easier to ferry goods via waterways from other parts of India, bypassing the chicken´s neck of Siliguri and the high terrain of Assam and Meghalaya. ¨The bridge will reduce travel time, risk and cost, and also integrate Tripura with the south Asian market,¨ Singh argued.