Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb said his government would spend Rs 12,000 crore to renovate National Highway 8 besides roads in villages across the state.

A press release from the chief minister’s office on Sunday said Rs 4,900 crore would be spent for renovation of the highway for which nearly four tenders were proposed and a sum of Rs 6,000 crore would reach the state government soon for renovating the roads in villages across the state.

“Not only this; the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had sanctioned Rs 1,600 crore for development of cities and towns under the state’s urban development department. Moreover, Agartala city is being developed under the Smart Cities Mission. In the next two years, initiatives will be taken in the state to develop infrastructure,” Deb said.

In the press release, Deb also claimed that the relationship between Bangladesh and Tripura had reached its peak and this would further improve. For this, it said, both the governments were sincere.

“By the end of April, construction of a bridge over the Feni river will make South Tripura district a business hub. Special economic zones (SEZ) will come up. Imports and exports will increase. Business centres are being created and the economy of Tripura will improve,” the press release said.

Referring to the relationship between India and Bangladesh, Deb said there was an increase in investment in the state after the new state government was formed in 2018.

He claimed that the credit deposit (CD) ratio had also increased.