India now eyeing Payra port in Bangladesh after Chabahar port in Iran

By - CEM Team

After signing a significant deal of $500 million with Iran for Chabahar airport, India is expanding and strengthening its global trading capabilities by being in discussions with Bangladesh to develop a similar facility in Payra.

This highlights a strategical move by India to develop and facilitate trade from a geographical stand point – Iran in the West and Bangladesh in East.

The Payra seaport is on the south-western corner of Bangladesh, close to Chittagong and is much closer to the Indian coastline. Chabahar is an all weather port and a Free Trade and Industrial Zone which is connected to the Persian Gulf, connecting UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iraq

These two recent moves of maritime infrastructure development seem to be a part of government’s ‘Act East’ policy.  According to a release by shipping ministry, India Ports Global, the joint venture between state-run JNPT and Kandla Port for overseas ports, is interested in the expressions of interest which have been invited for construction of Payra port in Bangladesh. As per the media, Payra project has also attracted investment interest from several India companies.

It has come to light that Bangladesh had already received an interest from China to build Payra port. But the country cancelled this deal, inclined to award it to New Delhi in order to strengthen Indo-Bangladeshi ties.

Source : News