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Both projects were initiated after PM Modi’s visit to Bhutan in March 2024, during which a memorandum of understanding was inked between the two countries. (Express Photo)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Bhutan next week for his fourth trip to the Himalayan nation since 2014. Though the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has yet to announce the visit, the two-day trip is expected to focus on energy cooperation and connectivity, according to sources.
The visit will coincide with the 70th birthday celebrations of former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the father of the current monarch, and feature the inauguration of the 1,020 megawatt Punatsangchhu-II Hydropower Project, which has been financed through a mix of Indian grants and loans. The plant, which has been operational since earlier this year, is set to nearly double Bhutan’s electricity capacity while helping it expand power exports to India.
PM Modi is also expected to review progress on two new India-Bhutan railway projects: the Kokrajhar–Gelephu link connecting Assam to southern Bhutan, and the Banarhat–Samtse line connecting West Bengal to southwestern Bhutan. Announced in September, the cross-border railway projects—69 km and 20 km, respectively—will connect Bhutan with the bordering areas of Assam and West Bengal.
The Kokrajhar-Gelephu and Banarhat-Samtse projects will cost Rs 3,456 crore and Rs 577 crore, respectively. The Kokrajhar-Gelephu line will have six stations, two important bridges, 29 major bridges, 65 minor bridges, two goods sheds, one flyover and 39 underpasses, with a construction period of four years. Meanwhile, the Banarhat-Samtse line will have two stations, one major bridge, 24 minor bridges, one overpass and 37 underpasses, and is set to be completed in three years.
Announcing the projects, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had said that they would enhance the overall connectivity between the two countries. “The two areas that have been picked are significant. Gelephu is the centrepiece of The Gelephu Mindfulness City. It is a strategic and visionary project conceived by the King of Bhutan, and we have expressed our support for this. And this is a project which is envisaged as an economic hub for that part of Bhutan. Since Assam is on its border, the project will have a spinoff effect for the entire region,” said Misri.
On the second project connecting Samtse, a town which is being developed as a major industrial hub, Misri said, “Some of the potential exports from this area to India will be dolomite, ferro-silicon, quartzite and stone chips. It is an accepted principle of transport economics that railway movement of cargo is far more economic than roads.”
Both projects were initiated after PM Modi’s visit to Bhutan in March 2024, during which a memorandum of understanding was inked between the two countries.
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India has been Bhutan’s largest provider of developmental assistance. Under Bhutan’s 13th Five Year Plan (2024-29), India has committed Rs 10,000 crore towards community development projects and a programme grant. India is also Bhutan’s top trading partner.
Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay has visited India twice this year. In February, he attended the inaugural Leadership Conclave of the School of Ultimate Leadership, inaugurated by Modi. Ahead of his second visit in September, the MEA had said that these back-to-back visits underscore the continuing close cooperation and strengthened ties between India and Bhutan, built on trust, goodwill, and regular high-level exchanges.
Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More
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