Centre to spend Rs 850cr on development of 14 land customs sts

New Delhi, Sep 29 (UNI) To facilitate bilateral trade between India and the neighbouring countries, the Central Governemnt will spend Rs 850 crore for development of land customs stations along the border with Pakistan, Banglasesh, Nepal and Myanmar, in next three years.

''Fourteen land custom stations, eight along the border with Bangladesh, four with that of Nepal and one each with the border of Pakistan and Myanmar will be developed,'' Minster of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said in Moreh, Manipur.

Rs 70 crore will be spent at Moreh, presently the only functional land customs station through which trade across the land route along 1,600 kms of the Indo-Myanmar border takes place, he added.

He informed that the Moreh project, which is being executed by the public sector company, RITES, will be launched shortly and completed in the next year and a half.

The minster, alongwith senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Finance and External Affairs, was on an official visit to Moreh and held talks with local businessmen and trade associations, including the Tamil Chamber of Commerce, which has been in existence at Moreh for many decades.

''The Ministry of Commerce has proposed to the Centre for easing of trade restrictions in trade with Myanmar, Banglasdesh and Nepal and expects the final decision shortly,'' Mr Ramesh informed the businessmen.

At present only 22 items are exchangeable under the bilateral border trade agreement, he added.

Moreh is one of the points through which trade takes place with these neigbouring countries.

Earlier, during his meetings with Manipur Chief Minister Ibobi Singh yesterday, he promised nine new projects and investments to develop Manipur's export potential in horticulture and handicrafts.

He apprised the CM of Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority's plant to establish a cold storage facility for perishable commodities at Imphal airport on lines of those at Guwahati, Bagdogra, Aizawl and Shillong airports.

He also highlighted the enormous strategic and economic significance to the northeast states of the 103 million dollar Sittwe/Kaladan project that India will soon launch in Myanmar through RITES.

''Sittwe port will be redeveloped and access provided to Mizoram through the Kaladan river. This will provide an alternative transport route between the Northeast and the rest of India, apart from improving accessibility of the northeast to Southeast Asia. This project is to be completed in three years,'' he said.

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