PM expected to inaugurate Phultala to Mongla rail line on 9 Nov

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the much awaited 91-kilometre long 'Phultala-Mongla Railway Line' in Khulna on 9 November.

Minister for Railway Md Nurul Islam Sujan said this while briefing media after inspecting Phultala Railway Station to Alignment (No.10 pillar) and Mohammadnagar Railway Station under 'Khulna-Mongla Railway Line Project' on Saturday.

He informed that over 98 percent of the works of the Phultala-Mongla Railway Line has already been completed and the rest will also be finished by 31 October.

Moreover, hundred percent work of the 5.13km rail bridge installed over the Rupsa River under the same project was also completed earlier, he said.

Addressing advantages of the two infrastructures, the minister said the communication system between India, Nepal and Bhutan with Bangladesh will be eased while opportunities also will be created to export and import goods using the Mongla Sea Port at a low cost.

He said government revenue will increase along with creating new opportunities of employment and flourishing tourism industry.

In addition, the railway line, once opened, will play a big role in economic development of the country's south-western region, the minister hoped.

Calling the railway as a national asset, he said the government has taken special initiatives to bring the entire country under rail, expand and modernise it.

Railway secretary Dr Md Humayun Kabir, project director Md Arifuzzaman, Khulna Deputy Commissioner Mukul Kumar Moitra, deputy project director Ahmed Hossain Masum, among others were present during the inspection.

Indian firm Larsen & Toubro is implementing the project involving over Tk4260 crore. In total 107 small bridges, nine underpasses and nine platforms from Phultala to Mongla were constructed under the project.