The 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 . Mr. Chidambaram said that the project will be built with an investment of 172 crore rupees and will be completed by January 2013. The Home Minister informed that the Centre has decided to set up 13 Integrated Check Posts in the country out of which seven will be along Indo-Bangladesh border. Referring to the 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 ease the infrastructural bottlenecks at entry and exit points on the land border of the country. Ms Banerjee said it will increase the volume of trade and commerce between two nations. Appreciating the India Government's initiatives, the Bangladesh Home Minister, Ms. Sahara Khatun said that her government is also taking such steps to boost bilateral trade and increase passenger amenities. AIR Kolkata Correspondent reports from Petrapole that the Land Ports Authority of India will construct the integrated check post with an aim to provide facilities like immigration, customs, quarantine and smooth cross-border movement of persons, goods and transport under one umbrella.