Kolkata, India (BBN) – India is working on a plan to start coastal shipping with Bangladesh, according to Director-General of Shipping, Gautam Chatterjee.
He was addressing a seminar at Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Kolkata.
Chatterjee said coastal shipping with Bangladesh will start in October, according to the BusinessLine report.
India has already relaxed rules to let small vessels ply between the two countries. Bangladesh will also relax the rules for the service, another report said.
According to a study of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), once coastal ships start plying, trade imbalance between the two countries will come down by US$1.0 billion. The new service will also reduce cost and time of transportation of goods.
The coastal shipping service will use three Bangladeshi ports and four Indian ports. The three Bangladeshi ports are Chittagong, Mongla and
Pangaon. The Indian ports are Paradip in Orissa, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Haldia in Paschimbanga and Kakinada port near Chennai.
Currently, the cargo shipment between the two countries is being carried via a third port like Singapore or Colombo in the absence of the direct coastal service.
BBN/SSR/AD-04July14-12:45 pm (BST)
