Benapole

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Benapole is the Bangladesh side of the Petrapole-Benapole border checkpost between Bangladesh and India.

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[edit] Significance

It is the most important checkpost of Bangladesh as the Bangladesh Land Port Authority (BLPA) is weighing the importance of the busiest land port Benapole on India-Bangladesh border in line with other Land Customs(LC) stations that cannot be recognized as full-fledged land ports.

Geographically Benapole is very strategic point for border trading between India and Bangladesh. With the space of time, the land port saw a continuous increase in the volume of trading between two countries. According to Land Port Authority, 90 percent of the total imported items from India comes through Benapole land port. Primarily Benapole land port was an LC station and gradually it turned into a customs division and later customs house in terms of its importance in trading. At present 143 staff including 9 officials and 134 employees are working at the Benapole land port. In 1996-97 period income from Benapole land port was around Taka 500 crore , at present it is Taka 850 crore

Indian Government has also decided to give priority to export in Bangladesh through Benapole-Petrapole border. Kolkata, one of the commercial hubs of India, is only 80 Kilometers away from Petrapole-Benapole border.

Benapole land port is also lucrative for Indian exporters for its cheaper service and equipment charges. Besides, Indian goods receive duty exemption advantage in this land port.

[edit] Recent advancements

The port witnessed a rise of import by 15 – 20 percent each year. A two-member consultant team of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is working to sort out improvement areas in the immigration and customs of the land port and also studying feasibility of Benapole-Petropole border as a corridor of transit in this South Asian region. James David Dent and Malcolm Liebrecht of ADB will submit their reports with recommendations to ADB within two months. After then ADB will put forward their reports to the concerned Ministry of the government.