India on Monday unveiled its plan to build two cross-border train links with Bhutan at a cost of over Rs 4,000 crore, in first such railway connectivity projects with the Himalayan nation to boost trade and economic engagement.
The details on the new rail projects linking the Bhutanese cities of Gelephu and Samtse with Kokrajhar in Assam and Banarhat in West Bengal respectively was made public by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. Under the two projects, 89 kms of railway lines will be laid and work is expected to be completed in the next four years. ”India and Bhutan share a relationship of exceptional trust, mutual respect, and understanding,” Misri said at a joint media briefing with Vaishnaw.
"This is a relationship that is rooted in cultural and civilizational ties, extensive people-to-people relations, and our shared developmental and security interests,” he said. India’s announcement of the projects came amid efforts by China to increase its strategic influence over Bhutan. Misri said the two governments have agreed to establish two cross-border rail links between Banarhat and Samtse and Kokrajhar and Gelephu.
"This will be the first set of rail connectivity projects with Bhutan,” he said. The agreement for setting up of the rail links was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bhutan last year. Vaishnaw said the projects will take off from the network of Indian Railways at Kokrajhar and Banarhat and that investment planned is about Rs 4,033 crore.
"As most of the EXIM trade of Bhutan is done through Indian ports, therefore, it becomes very important to have a good seamless rail connectivity for the Bhutanese economy to grow, and for the people to have better ways of access to the global network,” the minister said. ”So that’s why this entire project has been taken up. And Samtse and Gelephu, they have very important significance in the way the Bhutanese economic growth is being planned,” he said.
Sharing details of the first 69-km-long line between Kokrajhar and Gelephu, Vaishnaw said that there will be six stations between the two cities and the construction of the complete line will involve two important bridges, two viaducts, 29 major bridges, 65 minor bridges, two goodsheds, one road-over-bridge (ROB) and 39 road-under-bridges (RUBs). It will be completed in four years with an investment of Rs 3,456 crore and 2.39 km out of 69 km will be on Bhutanese side. Vaishnaw said the second line from Banarhat to Samtse will be 20 km long with two stations in between. It will have a completion period of three years at Rs 577 crore cost.
In his remarks, Foreign Secretary Misri said India has been Bhutan’s largest provider of developmental assistance and has played a vital role in its modernisation, especially in the areas of infrastructure and the overall economic development of the country. ”For the 13th five-year plan of Bhutan, which runs from 2024 to 2029, the government of India has committed a support of Rs 10,000 crore, which covers project-tied assistance, high-impact community development projects, the economic stimulus programme, and a programme grant,” he said. ”And this quantum constitutes a 100 per cent increase over the 12th five-year plan figures,” he added.
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