The Centre on Monday announced two cross-border railway projects of 69-km and 20-km length that will connect Bhutan with the bordering areas of Assam and West Bengal.

The 69-km Kokrajhar (Assam)-Gelephu (Bhutan) and 20-km Banarhat (West Bengal)-Samtse (Bhutan) will cost Rs 3,456 crore and Rs 577 crore, respectively.

The details of the initiative were made public by Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri at a media briefing.

Vaishnaw said the projects are of great significance since Bhutan’s Gelephu is being developed as Mindfulness City and Samtse as an industrial town.

“India is the largest trading partner of Bhutan and most of the EXIM trade of Bhutan is done through Indian Ports. Therefore it becomes very important to have seamless railway connectivity

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