The first-ever inaugural consignment of 1000 metric tons of stone aggregates chips from Bhutan using inland waterways has been officially received at Bangladesh today. The consignment was received by the senior officials from Bhutan, India and Bangladesh.
The day also marks the official inauguration of the export and import of goods through the use of riverine routes between the three countries of Bhutan, Bangladesh and India.
The first consignment was flagged off from Dhubri port in Assam, India on 12th July. The consignment reached Narayanganj Port in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Tuesday after travelling for three and half days through the Brahmaputra river covering a total distance of 615 KM.
The export and import of goods through the use of riverine routes are expected to reduce the cost of transportation and serve as economic cooperation of trade involving the three neighbouring countries.
With the opening of inland waterway transportation or the riverine route, the cost of transportation is expected to be reduced by 30 – 40 per cent, and travel time by 50 per cent.
“This is a historic move, it’s a historic event because till now we have been using land transport only. Basically, our trucks to reach Bangladesh be it from Phuentsholing or Gelephu or Samdrup Jongkhar, it is a long journey and we have to cross Meghalaya, Assam so there is a lot of bordering state issues. Therefore the advantages are it will cut short all these. The barges which we have started from Dhubri in Assam is not very far from Gelephu. They have to drive only little more than 3 hours and a barge can carry more than 2500 to 3000 metric tons,” said Loknath Sharma, the Economic Affairs Minister.
In 2018 the total value of trade between Bhutan and Bangladesh was recorded at USD 94.15 M, an increase of over 67 per cent compared to the previous year. Export of boulders to Bangladesh valued at Nu. 2bn contributed the highest to bilateral trade in 2018.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs urges private sectors to take full advantage of this new transport arrangement and assures the necessary support and assistance.
This initiative is the outcome of the visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh to Bhutan in April 2017 and the subsequent visit by the Prime Minister of Bhutan to Bangladesh in 2019 during which the Memorandum of Understanding and Standard Operating Procedures for Use of Inland Waterways for Transportation of Bilateral Trade were signed.
