Trials to NE via Chittagong, Mongla ports from Jan: KoPT

Trial cargo movement in the north east region through Chittagong and Mongla transit ports in Bangladesh is expected to commence from January, a top Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) official said on Monday.

"In a recent meeting in Bangladesh, both the countries agreed to allow Chittagong and Mongla as transit ports, as demanded by the industry. Trials are expected from January," KoPT Chairman Vinit Kumar said at the MCC-organised 'Logistics Forum 2019'.

This will shorten the distance to north eastern states by about 900 km in comparison to the traditional land routes.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has initiated a project to promote cargo movement on National Waterways-1 (Ganga) and National Waterways-2 (Brahmaputra), which will reduce carbon footprint and offer cost-effective alternate logistics route to boost regional connectivity.