BBIN: India eyes expanded rail, air links and power play

India is looking at an expanded sub-regional cooperation among BBIN (Bhutan-Bangladesh-India-Nepal) countries to cover initiatives in rail and air connectivity as also the power sector .

After the June 2015 Motor Vehicles Agreement, which is awaiting ratification only by Bhuatanese Parliament, New Delhi is looking at rail and air links.

“We have shifted our attention to railways and started the negotiation in BBIN,” said a senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) recently at a think tank meeting in Delhi.

India-Bangla rail link The primary focus is to revive the extensive rail connectivity that existed between India and Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) till 1965, and add Bhutan and Nepal to the air map.

India currently has three cross-country rail connections between Bengal and western Bangladesh. Three new connections will soon open soon between Bangladesh and North-East India through a bilateral arrangement.

Of the three existing links, Gede (Nadia, West Bengal)-Darshana (Bangladesh) offers broad-gauge connectivity between Kolkata and Dhaka and is used for running the six-days-a-week Maitri Express. The link is rarely used for cargo movement.

Singhabad (Malda, West Bengal)-Rohanpur (Bangladesh) is a cargo transit link for landlocked Nepal. But the facility is underutilised due to limited rail infrastructure and lack of North-South connectivity in Bangladesh.

Petrapole (North 24 Parganas, West Bengal)-Benapole (Bangladesh) is the most popular gate for bilateral trade. But traders show little interest in rail movement of cargo. Gauge mismatch between Indian and Bangladesh adds to the problem.

The scene is likely to change as Bangladesh has undertaken a major rail capacity upgrade.

This coupled with three new connections — Karimgunj (Assam)-Shabazpur (Bangladesh); Agartala (Tripura)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) and, Sabroom (Tripura)-Chittagong Port (Bangladesh) — will open new horizons in regional connectivity.

With Bangladesh implementing the ambitious $1.3-billion Dhaka-Chittagong rail project, trains originating in North-East India will soon roll into Kolkata through Bangladesh.

A line to Nepal India currently has a single railhead — used for cargo movement — from Kolkata port to Nepal’s industrial and commercial hub Birgunj.

A second railhead is nearly ready to connect Biratnagar, the second largest commercial centre in Nepal. However, the facility has not been operationalised due to lack of terminal facility in Biratnagar.

Delhi is now looking at three more rail links including one vis the Panitanki-Kakarvitta border in Bengal. Also multilateral agencies have identified a 945-km East-West railway line in Nepal , which is yet to create rail infrastructure of its own.

Air and inland-water According to the MEA official, “Sylhet airport in Bangladesh and Guwahati in Dhaka can emerge as regional hubs for air connectivity to promote tourism. Some airlines are reportedly interested in connecting the two airports.

Sylhet is an under-utilised international airport. A top Bangladeshi policy-maker feels future cooperation may see travellers from North-East India using Sylhet airport for international travel instead of flying via Kolkata or Delhi.

India and Bangladesh have an inland water treaty. Discussions are on to expand its scope and involving the other BBIN nations in it.

But the mega cooperation initiative may happen in the energy sector.

India has had a robust trade and investment arrangement with hydro-power producer Bhutan since the 1980s.

The bilateral cooperation between India and Bangladesh in energy has expanded exponentially over the last six years. India is already selling 600 MW to Bangladesh and, is investing in power joint ventures there.

Nepal has been the exception. Though it buys over 300 MW from India, it has vetoed investment proposals in the past. But the scene may be changing with the shift in the power in Kathmandu.

India’s Power Ministry has proposed a joint venture among BBIN countries that will be at liberty to invest in the region and share the fruits as well. It is also “working on a cross-border power trade policy” to make trade regional.

According to a recent World Bank study, regional trade of electricity can spare India from investing in 35,000 MW coal-fired capacities (at an estimated $26 billion) over the next 25 years.

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