India won't pay any fees for transshipment thru roads
India won't pay any fees for transshipment thru roads
FE Report
Shipping minister Shahjahan Khan said India will not pay any charges for using port and roads to transship its over dimensional consignment (ODC) right now.
He said India will however
pay the charges as required under the river protocol.The minister said this today Tuesday during the signing ceremony of memorandum of understanding (MoU) to allow India to transship ODCs for its power project in Tripura through Bangladesh river and road routes.
The MoU signed between Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and Tripura Power Company (OTPC) at the Shipping Ministry's conference room will
allow India to start construction of the Ashuganj-Akhaura road and renovation of Ashuganj port to facilitate the transshipment.RHD chief engineer Md Azizur Rahman and OTPC senior advisor RK Madan signed the MoU on behalf of their respective sides.
Shipping secretary Md Abdul Mannan Howlader and Communications secretary Mozzammel Haque Khan also spoke on the occasion.
Indian Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONDC) will transship a total of 92 ODCs including eight overweight consignments through Ashuganj-Akhaura road via Ashuganj port from 2012.
To do so, some renovation work of the port and construction and widening of the
road at a cost of Tk 250 million under the Indian state credit will be needed.
The shipping minister said with the signing of MoU, both India and Bangladesh will be benefited as India will construct the 49 kilometre road widening it to 18 feet.
"This will make the roads fit to carry heavy consignment not only for them but also others who will use it in the future," said the minister.
He, however, told the journalists that the finance ministry and national board of revenue will decide on fixing any charges to India for transshipment in future.
The shipping minister said
India has been paying Bangladesh service charge since long under the 1972 protocol.
The shipping secretary said the construction of the Ashuganj-Akhaura road will begin next month with a target to complete it by 2012.
He said India will carry entire work of the construction under the supervision of Bangladesh's RHD involving both India and Bangladesh contractors.
"The country will also fix up damage while carrying out the ODCs," he said adding that friendly relations between the two countries would be increased with the signing of MoU and future cooperation among each other.