AGARTALA, July 5 (TIWN): On yet another escalation to the bi-lateral trade between India and Bangladesh the construction of the two-lane bridge over the river Feni to get the Direct Project Report (DPR) within 2 months from now, said a top official of the state Public Work Department (PWD). Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tied a nod to the bridge during his visit at Dhaka on June 5. The decision to construct the bridge over the Feni river had come up earlier in a high level meeting chaired by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. Asked about the development to the project work the top official of the PWD said that the DPR is currently underway and it would take another 2 months at least to get it ready.He said that earlier the bridge over the river Feni was proposed to be of four lanes but now it had been finalised that the bridge would be of two-lanes.The bridge from Tripura’s Sabroom would connect Bangladesh through its Chatokil Ananda Para. Once the bridge is constructed the National Highway of Tripura would be connected with it, said the official.The state PWD department had been entrusted to take up the land classification works.Asked about the funding system, the official said that the Govt. of India is likely to share the fund or else the state government would have to look after the entire funding system.The land survey report had already been placed with the concerned ministries which approved the project work.

India will construct a bridge over Feni River in southern Tripura to get access to the Chittagong international sea port in Bangladesh for carrying goods and heavy machineries for the land-locked north eastern region.

The Feni bridge is expected to draw a significant segment of the proposed economic corridor through India, Bangladesh, China and Myanmar.

During a visit to Dhaka in January 2010, Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar took up the matter with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that they wanted to build a bridge over river Feni as the business community of the Indian North-Eastern region wanted to use the Chittagong seaport.