Infrastructure dev of Akhaura land port demanded

Our Correspondent BRAHMANBARIA, Sept 15: Local chamber leaders and businessmen have demanded proper infrastructure development in the adjacent areas of the newly-upgraded Akhaura land port reap the benefit of the best economic potentialities. "The government must ensure the logistic support like banking and storage facilities with adequate power supply in and around the land port; otherwise, all the hard attempts to reap economic and social benefits will hardly accrue to us," President of Brahmanbaria Chamber of Commerce and Industry Md Jahangir Alam Bhuiyan told The Financial Express. Mr Bhuiyan also put thrust on developing the road infrastructure between Brahmanbaria town and Akhaura via Sultanpur. Monir Hossain Babul, secretary of Akhaura C&F agents said that the business activities of the land port is badly hampered in absence of banking, storage, weight machine, fax, computer and internet service facilities. "If the government solves these problems immediately, this land port will be able to play a key role to widen the trade relations between Bangladesh and India." The land port, having ware-house, office complex, open-yard, truck parking yard was constructed on 15 acres of land at a cost of Tk 87.50 million. The land port authority developed the land and built preliminary infrastructure at a cost of Tk 45.00 million in first phase. At least 10 trucks can now carry goods within 250 yards from the zero point of the border connecting Akhaura land port with Agartala town of the Indian state of Tripura. Hamidur Rahman, a ware-house superintendent of Akhaura land port said, the authority will establish a generator for power house at a cost of Tk 2.50 million, set up weight scale at a cost of Tk 3.00 million and terminal shade at a cost of Tk 10.00 million within a short time. Agartala, the capital of the Indian state of Tripura, is situated within 25-km of Brahmanbaria town and 6-km from Akhaura Upazila town. Abul Basher Chowdhury, Land Custom officer Said, Akhaura land custom station set up its office in 1950 and started export-import business in1957. The activities of the land custom office were closed in the month of December in 1958. Again it started its function in 1994. Since than, the government earned a huge amount of revenue. This land port was enlisted as private sector project in 2005 after the announcement of Akhaura land port in January, 2002.