Indo-Bangla river-borne trade to have a shot in the arm
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The cabinet yesterday approved the draft of the amendment to an existing agreement between Bangladesh and India on raising the number of ports of call between your two countries with a check out to deepening river-borne trade.
The approval to the draft of the next revision of the Protocol on Inland Normal water, Transit and Trade (PIWT&T) came at a weekly cabinet meeting at the secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Port of phone means an intermediate give up for a ship on its scheduled quest for unloading and loading of cargo or dealing with supplies or fuel.
In line with the draft, two new river routes might be contained in the current PIWT&T signed in June 2015. The routes will be utilized to trade merchandise. Besides, India would use the routes to move things from its one territory to some other employing the territory of Bangladesh.
"This amendment will supercharge bilateral trade and alleviate the river transport between your two countries," Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam told reporters following the meeting.
"Bangladesh would also come to be benefited because of the brand new ports of phone as the carrying cost of goods will reduce significantly."
Presently, Narayanganj, Khulna, Mongla, Sirajganj, Ashuganj and Pangaon are the ports of ask the Bangladesh side and Kolkata, Haldia, Karimganj, Pandu, Silghat and Dhubri happen to be ports of ask the Indian side.
Under the draft, Rajshahi, Sultanganj, Chilmari, Daudkandi and Bahadurabad will be declared as the brand new ports of ask the Bangladesh aspect. Besides, Ghorasal and Muktarpur will be looked at as the prolonged ports of call.
On the Indian side, Dhulian, Maia, Kolaghat, Sonapura and Jogigopha will be declared as the new ports of call while Tribeni (Bandel) and Badarpur will be looked at as the extended ports of call.
At the moment, there are eight river routes earmarked under the PIWT&T.
Beneath the revised protocol, the brand new routes on the Indian side will be Badarpur, Sonamura, Kolaghat, Maia and Jogigopha. Ghorasal, Daudkandi, Sultanganj, Aricha and Bahadurabad are the different river routes on the Bangladesh side.
Capital and protection dredging will be completed found in 470 kilometres of river routes under a joint venture. India will bear a lot of the cost.
The river routes will be the 175km Sirajganj-Doikhaoa and the 275km Ashuganj-Jokiganj. India will continue the dredging for the next four years as per contract, the cabinet secretary explained.
The cabinet also gave its consent to the draft protocol to be signed for acquiring assistance from Russia over the procedure and protection of the Rooppur Nuclear Ability Plant after constructing the country's first nuke electricity plant.
According to agreement, Russia will take back the nuclear waste products of the energy plant, the secretary said.
There is no specific clauses in today's agreement on maintaining the plant following its construction, said Surayya Akhtar Jahan, deputy secretary of the science and technology ministry.
Consultancy, training services, services for repairs and maintenance and offer of equipment and components will be incorporated in the excess agreement, she said.
One of the ambitious mega projects of the federal government, the structure of the $12.65 billion-power plant commenced in November 2017.
Russia's State Atomic Energy Company Rosatom is constructing the two 2,400 megawatt vitality plant at Rooppur found in Pabna and the primary two devices of the plant are anticipated to be operational found in 2023.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net