The Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) is making efforts to inaugurate its facility in South Tripura's Sabroom by February, an official said here on Wednesday.
When the land port becomes operational, it will provide direct access to Bangladesh's Ramgarh port which is also under construction.
To expedite the work, Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) Chairman Aditya Mishra on Tuesday visited the construction site of the Sabroom land port and reviewed the progress.
"Around 95 per cent of the cargo terminal at the Sabroom facility has been completed and 80 per cent of work at the passenger terminal has been done till date," the official said.
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"The LPAI chairman has reviewed the progress of work of the proposed land port at Sabroom and emphasised on the importance of completing the same at the earliest on both sides. He had also discussed with a Bangladesh delegation led by Project Director Ramgarh Port, Sarwar Alam, at Sabroom," Land Ports Authority of India's Agartala manager Debasish Nandi told media.
He said the LPAI wants to "start passengers' movement through Sabroom land port by February because facilities for cargo handling have not been made much progress on the Bangladesh side". "We are leaving no stone unturned to open passenger movement from Sabroom land port from the next month as Matri Setu, connecting both sides across the international border, was opened in 2021. The cargo movement will take time because facilities are yet to be in place in Bangladesh's Ramgarh," he said.
An amount of Rs 232 crore was earmarked for the construction of the land port capable of handling both cargo and passengers at Sabroom.