Nitin Gadkari flagged off a Roll-on-Roll-off (RoRo)-cum-general cargo vessel carrying 185 trucks from Chennai to Bangladesh

Nagpur/Chennai: The road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday flagged off a Roll-on-Roll-off (RoRo)-cum-general cargo vessel carrying 185 trucks from Chennai Port to Mongla port in Bangladesh which is expected to save around 15 to 20 days of travel time.

Digitally flagging off the vessel from Nagpur, Gadkari said that transport through the sea route will save about 15 to 20 days of travel time.

"As per our government's vision, our first priority is waterways, followed by railways and roadways. Transport by sea not only reduces cost, it also saves time and reduces carbon footprint," he said.

Gadkari also called on all automobile manufactures to use coastal shipping mode for transporting their vehicles. So far, such trucks being exported by Ashok Leyland were being sent to Bangladesh through the land route, travelling a distance of about 1,500 kilometres.

For this trip alone, a total of around three lakh vehicle kilometres of road travel will be saved as the land route is longer and much time is lost at the congested Petrapole-Benapole check point at the India-Bangladesh border, a shipping ministry statement said.

"Initiatives like this are aimed at providing innovative logistic chain solutions under Sagarmala. The ultimate objective is to save logistic costs and time of transportation and boosting trade by making Indian goods competitive in international markets," the statement said.

The coastal shipping agreement between India and Bangladesh was signed during prime minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh in June 2015.

Based on the agreement, sea transportation from Indian to Bangladesh ports is being treated as coastal movement, making it eligible for 40 per cent concession on vessel related and cargo related charges.

For coastal movement through RoRo vessels, 80 percent concession on vessel related and cargo related charges are applicable in Indian ports, the Shipping Ministry said.