The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has reportedly inaugurated 'Maitri Setu' a 1.9km bridge built over Feni River between India and Bangladesh.

A new 1.9km-long bridge that connects Sabroom, India, with Ramgarh, Bangladesh, has been opened to the public.

The Maitri Setu bridge runs over the Feni River, which flows between the Indian boundary in Tripura and Bangladesh.

The bridge was built by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation with an Rs1.99bn ($18.2m) investment.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the bridge alongside Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina via video conferencing.

Modi said: “The connectivity is not only strengthening the friendship between India and Bangladesh but also proving to be a strong link of business too. He informed that the entire region is being developed as a trade corridor between north-east India and Bangladesh.

“The Prime Minister emphasised that the rail and water connectivity projects that have been realised in recent years have been strengthened by this bridge. This will improve the connectivity of south Assam, Mizoram and Manipur, along with Tripura with Bangladesh and South-East Asia.”

The bridge will give Tripura access to Bangladesh’s Chittagong Port, which is 80km away from Sabroom.

PM Modi also laid the foundation stone for setting up an integrated check post at Sabroom.

PM Hasina lauded India for ‘building a prosperous region together’ and wished for a ‘successful operation and utilisation’ of the Maitri Setu.

Hasina added: “50 years ago, in 1971, India opened up its border for Bangladesh’s people to support their freedom struggle; today we are building a prosperous region together. I wish successful operation and utilisation of the Feni Maitri Setu.”