Benapole Cargo Vehicle Terminal is being launched, will reduce traffic congestion and increase revenue

The cargo vehicle terminal at Benapole is being commissioned next month (October). It is built on the zero line between Bangladesh and India. In the middle, there is only Panchil on this side Bangladesh and India on the other side. When inaugurated, this terminal will be able to store around 1500 cargo trucks. As a result, it will be possible to quickly load and unload the goods of the truck at the port. On the one hand, this will reduce the traffic congestion, and the government will get more revenue.

Due to easy road and rail connectivity between India and Bangladesh, the trade through Benapole land port in Jessore has increased manifold. Therefore, the suffering of goods transportation has also increased by leaps and bounds. And to overcome this crisis and to increase the capacity of the land port, the project titled 'Construction of Cargo Vehicle Terminal' was taken at Benapole.

Deputy Director of Benapole Land Port Rashedul Sajib Nazir said, "The construction work of this project started in February 2022 after acquiring the land. The project cost of Tk 329 crore is estimated for the construction of this cargo vehicle terminal on about 24 acres of land. Out of this, 109 crores are allocated for land acquisition and 220 crores for construction.

According to land port sources, the cargo terminal has a capacity of 1,200 to 1,500 trucks. Under the project, parking yard, cargo building, port service building, utility building, fire station, modern toilet complex, Weybridge scale and other infrastructure have been constructed. The terminal is modern and attractive. The terminal can be turned on when the power is connected. Its commissioning will reduce chronic congestion at the port and increase port mobility.

With Mofizur Rahman Sajal, former president of Benapole Clearing and Forwarding (C&F) Agents Association. Talking about the terminal

He said, "The project cost of the terminal is 329 crore rupees. If the terminal is inaugurated, the long-standing traffic congestion and product congestion will be reduced. Since 1 to 1500 trucks can stay together here, quick unloading of goods will be possible. In that case, the Indian trucks will unload the goods in no time. As a result, importers do not have to pay extra. Because the importers had to pay compensation if the goods were delayed. It won't be needed anymore. And the more cargo trucks are unloaded, the more revenue the government will get.

He also said that the construction of the terminal has been done well. I have come to know that the infrastructures that have been built here are up-to-date and of good quality. If this terminal is inaugurated, the congestion of goods will surely be reduced, the suffering will be reduced.

According to land port sources, about 7 to 8 thousand metric tons of goods are imported from India every day. As a result, many products are kept under the open sky due to lack of space. Apart from this, Indian trucks are sitting at the port day after day with goods. Unloading is a problem due to lack of space. The port users think that this problem will go away if the terminal is opened.

Those concerned think that the suffering will be reduced
When asked, Hasan Ali, project director and supervising engineer of the port, said, "The highest quality in the construction of the cargo vehicle terminal has been ensured through Buet, Kuet and our own lab tests."

He expressed optimism that the electricity connection work will be completed within the next week. And the terminal will be inaugurated next month i.e. October. The opening of the terminal will increase both the port's capacity and revenue. Business between the two countries will become easier.