North-East Focus: Jogighopa in Assam To Be Developed Into Logistics Hub With Land, Water And Air Connectivity

Situated on the banks of Brahmaputra, the rustic town of Jogighopa is all set to play a pivotal role in boosting India’s trade with South-East Asia and within the North-East region, Mint has reported.

The Roadways Ministry has come up with an ambitious project for the development of a multimodal logistics park (MMLP) in Jogighopa having rail, road, water as well as air connectivity.

The project will be implemented in two phases, with Phase I totalling about Rs 155 crore and Phase II around Rs 115 crore. The project is being backed by Asian Development Bank, which focuses on infrastructure development in Asia.

Jogighopa’s unique location, along National Waterways 2, and on the Indo-Bangladesh road route makes it an ideal candidate for the MMLP. The project is one of the key focus areas of Roadways Minister Nitin Gadkari. The ministry had also announced the North-East Economic Corridor as a part of the Bharatmala project earlier.

The project also demonstrates the Road Ministry’s renewed focus on the logistics sector, which was recently granted infrastructure status by the government. Bangladesh’s focus on industrialisation is also set to drive trade between India and Bangladesh and between Bangladesh and Bhutan through India. The MMLP is hence set to play a vital part as a touch point for the trade in the region.

Chander Agarwal, managing director of logistic company TCI Express, welcomed the government’s decision saying, “North-East is one of the regions which has played a pivotal role in terms of logistics connectivity with the international and national corridors of India. We believe ASEAN’s (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) strong bond with the North-East region will act as a mascot for the entire region and for the rest of the businesses in India.”