Poor infrastructure hinders Benapole, Petropole

Poor infrastructure of Benapole and Petrapole land ports is still a hindrance to bilateral trade between Bangladesh and India, a recent study of South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) has pointed out. “Though around 80% of land trade between India and Bangladesh is done through Benapole and Petrapole land ports, we have observed that the two ports are not ready at all to boost the bilateral trade between the two countries,” SANEM Executive Director Prof Dr Selim Raihan told reporters Tuesday. The study, titled “Boosting Bangladesh-India Bilateral Trade: Are Benapole and Petrapole Land Ports Ready to take the Challenges?”, is based on the opinions of more than 100 stakeholders from the governments and private sectors of Bangladesh and India. Prof Raihan presented the findings at a press briefing at the SANEM headquarters’ in Dhaka. “Poor infrastructure facilities is the main hindrance to the operation at Benapole and Petrapole. Besides, the operation at Petrapole is already hit by the menace of extortion by some local influential quarters,” he added. According to the study findings, the existing challenges facing the two land ports include  insufficient operation hours, low storage capacity, inadequate equipment, insufficient transport and space facilities, inefficianet regulatory and administrative procedure, lack of readiness to use digital and advanced technology, and lack of manpower. The remedial suggestions include widening the roads, increasing space facilities, making the round-the-clock operation more effective, incorporating advanced digital and technological facilities such as Risk Management System, arranging training and workshops to improve the skills of the existing workforce and recruit additional workforce. The SANEM study noted that the magnitude of the problems are lighter at the other side of the border compared to that in Benapole. SANEM Senior Research Associate Md Nazmul Avi Hossain and Research Associates Md Jahid Ebn Jalal and Md Sadat Anowar, among others, were present at the event.