The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has confirmed that will be building a bridge over the Feni River, in Tripura, which will connect it to Chittagong port in Bangladesh. Earlier this bridge was supposed to be a two lane highway, which now, has affectively been changed to a four lane highway.
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) plans to convert the Agartala- Sabroom portion (133 km) of the Assam- Agartala National Highway (NH-44) from the existing double lane to four-lane at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore by 2013. Scot Wilson India Ltd, a NHAI approved consultancy agency, had been asked to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the conversion project.
The distance covered by this highway is being reduced from 133 km to 127 km. This will be achieved by changing the actual alignment for the road in 119 places. The 630-km long NH-44, is the primary mode of transport in Tripura, Mizoram, southern Assam and eastern Manipur. This highway also connects the Meghalaya capital Shillong, with Sabroom. The NH-44 highway is being converted into four lanes from southern Assam to Agartala.
Chittagong port is an important port for carrying goods and heavy machineries for the land-locked northeastern region of India. Bangladesh has provided permission for the use of Chittagong port to India in the beginning of this year. This new highway will definitely give rise to tourist attractions and may help flourish trade routes between Bangladesh and the North-East. The infrastructure funding for this project is being provided by the Central Government.