Tripura plans digital platform to integrate transport, infrastructure projects

Tripura’s Public Works Department (PWD) is working on an integrated digital platform that will bring information on existing, ongoing and proposed infrastructure projects across different departments onto a single system.

The initiative is part of the World Bank-funded Tripura Urban Economic Growth and Service Delivery Project and is being developed under the Integrated Transport Network Development Plan (ITNDP).

Anup Kumar Das, Chief Engineer of the PWD’s road and building wing, said the department aims to prepare and adopt the ITNDP within the next one-and-a-half years.

“Through this plan, a digital portal will be created where information about existing infrastructure, ongoing projects and future projects of different departments will be compiled,” Das told PTI.

The proposed system will cover more than roads and bridges. It is expected to bring railways, airports, goods transportation and other communication infrastructure into a coordinated framework.

The plan will also focus on improving connectivity for agricultural products and strengthening trade links with Bangladesh. According to Das, the ITNDP will identify infrastructure and transport links needed to support increased cross-border trade.

“In future, the plan is to consider villages, markets, major roads, railways, goods transportation centres and border areas together so that the entire communication system can function in an integrated manner,” he said.

The project also includes plans for around 416.47 km of rural roads, along with two testing laboratories for rural products and passenger transport centres.

Das said the plan is intended to provide a long-term roadmap for Tripura’s transport infrastructure by identifying areas where new roads, transport centres and other connectivity facilities will be required.

A key component will be the movement of agricultural produce from rural areas to markets.

“The plan will identify how agricultural products from different areas can be collected and taken to markets, where transport centres are required, and which routes should be connected with railways or major roads,” Das said.