The Union minister of state for shipping, Mansukh Mandaviya, today flagged-off the container vessel MV Shejyoti that will travel with cargo from Kolkata to Tripura via the Chattogram (Chittagong) Port in Bangladesh.

The Kolkata port today shared that as part of an MoU signed between India and Bangladesh for movement of Indian goods through waterways, rail, road or multimodal transport, the first container vessel, MV Shejyoti, operated by CJ-Darcl and Pennon Shipping, will carry four transit containers laden with TMT steel bars from Tata Steel and pulses from ETC Agro Processing.

At Chattogram Port, the containers will be offloaded and then loaded on trailers. The containers will subsequently be carried through road and cover the distance of 200 km to reach Agartala.

It was further learnt that in the future, a substantial quantity of rice, wheat, pulses, steel and project cargo is expected to be transported to North-East region using this multimodal route.

The permission to open up this route from Syama Prasad Mookherjee(SMP) Port in Kolkata to Bangladesh Chattogram Port was permitted today by the Government of India. The port spokesperson highlighted that the opening of this route strengthens the long-standing friendship between India and Bangladesh.

This multimodal route is a winwin situation for both the countries. It was further pointed out that for India, the route would reduce distance, time and logistic cost for transportation of goods to and from NorthEast. Job creation, boosting investment in logistics sector, integration of supply chain facilities and promotion of business services such as transport and insurance are the major advantages for Bangladesh.

The union minister of state for shipping, Mansukh Mandaviya flagged off the journey, virtually, in the presence of Mr. Vinit Kumar, chairman, SMP, Kolkata and other senior officers present at the Kolkata Dock System. It was learnt that Kolkata is also coordinating the ship movement with the help of High Commission of India at Dhaka and Chattogram Port Authority at Bangladesh. Customs authorities, Tripura government and land port authority are also providing necessary help.