Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday laid the foundation stone of an Integrated Check Post at Petrapole border along Bangladesh at North 24 Pargana district in West Bengal. West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee and Bangladesh Home Minister Ms. Sahara Khatun were also present at the foundation stone laying ceremony. Addressing a gathering at the programme, Mr. Chidambaram said that the Integrated Check post will be built with an investment of 172 crore rupees and will be completed by January 2013. Referring to Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh's ensuing Bangladesh visit on 6th and 7th of next month, Mr. Chidambaram said that the project which has been started today will further strengthen bi-lateral ties between the two countries. West Bengal Chief Minister, Ms. Mamata Banerjee said that the Intergrated Check Post will help in reducing the infrastructural bottlenecks at entry and exit points on the land border and facilitate growth in bilateral trade. Appreciating the Indian Government's initiatives, Bangladesh Home Minister, Ms. Sahara Khatun said that her government is also taking such steps to boost bilateral trade and increase passenger amenities. The Integrated check post being set up at Petrapole is part of the government’s initiative to set up 13 integrated check posts on the country’s borders with Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Myanmar with an initial outlay of Rs. 635 crore. Seven of these 13 integrated check posts are being constructed along the India Bangladesh border at Petrapole, Agartala, Dawki, Hili, Chandrabangha, Sutarkhandi and Kawarpuchiah. According to studies, nearly sixty percent of the bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh is through the Petrapole Land customs station. The integrated check post will function under the Land ports authority of India and will have adequate infrastructural facilities for operations related to security, immigration, customs, quarantine, warehousing and cold storage to enable smooth cross-border movement of persons, goods and transport.