Construction of Ramgarh Land Port Maitri Bridge 1 to be completed on January 5, inauguration soon

Ramgarh (Khagrachhari) Correspondent: The construction work of Maitrisetu-1 on Fenindi of Ramgarh in Khagrachhari is coming to an end on January 5. Once the construction is completed, Indian bridge construction officials will inspect the bridge on January 6 and say it will be inaugurated soon. The construction of the bridge is expected to be completed within two years after the start of construction in November 2016, but the construction work is being completed after 3 long years as the construction work has been stopped for several months to prevent the deadly corona infection.

After the construction of the bridge, the much awaited land port of Ramgarh-India in Bangladesh will be launched. The launch of the 15th land port in Bangladesh and the first in the Chittagong Hill Tracts is expected to open new avenues for overall economic development, including trade, tourism, employment, import and export. On the other hand, the Indian government sees the Ramgarh land block as the gateway to the seven underdeveloped states in the northeast, known as the Seven Sisters with South Asia.

Under the supervision of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation of India Limited (NHIDCL) and contractor Tanishchandra Agarbhag Impakon Pvt. Ltd. Stade RCC begins construction of the Friendship Bridge. The bridge has a total of 12 pillars, of which 6 have been constructed in Bangladesh and 4 in India. There are 11 spans. Of these, two are 33.5 m long, 4 are 26.5 m long and one is 50 m long in Bangladesh. There is one span of 60 meters on the river, one of 50 meters in the Indian part and two spans of 26.5 meters in length.

The main span is a span of 180 meters in length, including 60 meters span on the river side and 50 meters on both sides of the river. Meanwhile, on August 18, 2020, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved seven projects, including a development project at a cost of Tk 845.53 crore, for the Hayake-Baraiya Hat road from Ramgarh in Khagrachhari to increase imports and exports between Bangladesh and India. The government will provide Tk 264.33 crore for the project and the Indian loan will be implemented at a cost of Tk 561.20 crore by June 2022.

However, several two-lane bridges on the Ramgarh-Bariarhat road are already under construction. It is learned that during the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Delhi in January 2010, a joint decision was taken in a meeting with the then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh to launch the Ramgarh-Sabra land port. Earlier, on 18 June 2009, the then Deputy High Commissioner of India to Dhaka, Mukta Dutta, visited the site of the proposed land port at Mahamuni in Ramgarh and the construction of a bridge over the Fenindi. Later, on June 6, 2015, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the foundation stone of the Bangladesh-India Friendship Bridge-1 under construction on the Feni River.

Ramgarh Municipal Mayor Mohammad Shahjahan Kazi Ripon said border residents of the two countries are seeing a glimmer of hope as the construction of the Maitri Bridge is completed. If the port infrastructure is constructed quickly, the municipality along with the people of Ramgarh will benefit and employment including trade and commerce will increase. Upazila Executive Officer. Mahmud Ullah Maruf said the people of the two countries would benefit in the fields of trade, higher education, tourism and culture if the Ramgarh land port is fully operational. He said talks were underway to inaugurate the bridge soon at the final stage of construction.