Cabinet nod for road project to boost SAARC trade

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The cabinet on Thursday approved a 10 billion rupees road project to help increase trade with some South Asian nations, a government statement said.

The project, which is to be build with the help of private firms within 30 months in West Bengal, is part of the ambitious national highway programme.

"The traffic on this National Highway is expected to increase substantially due to the implementation of South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) among SAARC countries (Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh)," it said.

The cabinet also approved two other road projects together worth 14.79 billion rupees, it added.

(Reporting by Rajkumar Ray; Editing by Harish Nambiar)