Latest news with #KaladanMultiModalTransitTransportProject
Deccan Herald
18-05-2025
- Business
- Deccan Herald
Why bypassing Bangladesh and connecting Northeast with Kolkata via Myanmar is important for India
In light of the situation, India realised that completing the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP) that links Mizoram to Kolkata via Myanmar has become of the utmost importance.
India.com
17-05-2025
- Business
- India.com
Modi govt hits anti India Yunus hard over his 'chicken neck' remark, launches this big project in..., now Bangladesh...
New Delhi: The Government of India is set to construct a highway from Shillong to Silchar. This highway will provide an alternative link between the northeastern states and Kolkata via the sea route. This information was provided by an official from the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), reports The Indian Express. This project was approved on April 30th of this year by the Union Cabinet. The estimated cost of the project is 22,864 crore rupees. Of the total length of the project, 144.8 km is in Meghalaya and 22 kilometers in Assam. Once this project is completed, the dependence on the Siliguri Corridor for accessing the northeastern states will be reduced. The role of engineers will be crucial in constructing Shillong to Silchar highway as the area also includes large mountains. An officer of NHIDCL has stated that this highway project is a response to a recent statement made by Mohammad Yunus, the chief advisor of Bangladesh's interim government. In March, Yunus said in Beijing that India's northeastern region is landlocked and that Bangladesh is the sole guardian of the ocean for the entire area. India had taken a dim view of Yunus's statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi advised Yunus to avoid statements that could deteriorate the atmosphere. This project is special as a 166.8 km long four-lane highway is to be constructed from Mawlyngkhung near Shillong to Panchgram near Silchar in Assam on NH-6. This is the first high-speed corridor project in the Northeast. NHIDCL is developing it for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), and it is expected to be completed by 2030. In addition, the Ministry of External Affairs in Myanmar is funding the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project. This project connects the Kolkata port to the Sittwe port which is linked to Paletwa in Myanmar via waterways and to Zoringpui in Mizoram by road. NHIDCL will extend this project from Zoringpui through Lungtau to Aizawl in Mizoram. After this, India will not rely on Bangladesh. An NHIDCL officer stated that with the help of the Kaladan project, goods from the northeastern region will reach Vishakhapatnam and Kolkata, and India will not have to depend on Bangladesh for this. Once this high-speed corridor is established, it will be easier to transport goods along this route, which will also promote economic activities in the region. Currently, the only way to reach the seven northeastern states is through the Siliguri corridor, which is famously known as 'chicken neck'.
Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Why Northeast-Kolkata link via Myanmar — not Bangladesh — is significant
Amid a downturn in India's relationship with Bangladesh, the long-delayed Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP) linking Mizoram to Kolkata via Myanmar has grown in importance. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has now okayed a 166.8-km four-lane highway from Shillong to Silchar, which will eventually be extended to Zorinpui, Mizoram, and connect the KMMTTP with a high-speed road corridor that runs through the heart of the Northeast, The Indian Express reported. 'With the help of the Kaladan project, cargo will reach from Vizag and Kolkata to the Northeast, without being dependent on Bangladesh,' a senior official from National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) told The Indian Express. Ties between New Delhi and Dhaka have taken a nosedive since the ouster of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, an all-weather ally to India, last August. The MoRTH sanctioned the Shillong-Silchar highway about a month after Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh's interim government, called Northeast India 'landlocked', and referred to Bangladesh as the 'only guardian of the ocean' during a visit to China. For New Delhi, this was a matter of concern. Currently, rest of India's only access to the seven Northeastern states is through the narrow Siliguri Corridor, which goes by the apt moniker of 'Chicken's Neck'. Straddled between Nepal and Bangladesh, and only 20 km at its narrowest, this corridor has long posed an economic and a strategic challenge to New Delhi — one that has prompted some experts to call it 'an Achilles heel for India'. Over the last decade-and-a-half, an important element of New Delhi's engagement with the Hasina government in Dhaka was to open pathways to the Northeast via Bangladesh — as would have been the case pre-Partition. (Note that Agartala, the capital of Tripura, lies less than 200 km from the port of Chattogram in Bangladesh.) This, experts argue, would boost economic activity across the Northeast as well as in Bangladesh. But with a new, seemingly 'anti-India' dispensation in place in Dhaka, these plans have fallen by the wayside, prompting India to 'Look [further] East'. After feasibility studies were conducted in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the KMMTTP framework was signed by India and Myanmar in 2008. This was set to be a major development in India's strategically vital Look East Policy. (Act East Policy under the Narendra Modi government). The idea behind the project was straightforward. To create a transit corridor from the port of Sittwe in the Rakhine State in Myanmar to Mizoram, and eventually the rest of Northeast India. This would allow goods to be shipped from India's easten ports — primarily Kolkata — to Sittwe and then taken to Mizoram and beyond. Upon completion, the KMMTTP would effectively shave off 1,000 km in distance between Kolkata and Mizoram, and save a journey time of three-to-four days. As former Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary Sripriya Ranganathan had said during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Myanmar in 2014: '[the KMMTTP is a] totally win-win kind of a project in which we get the access that we seek to ensure to our Northeast, while Myanmar gets an asset which it will be able to use and that will benefit the people of a fairly backward and under-developed [Rakhine] state'. As the term 'multi-modal' suggests, the project combines several modes of transport. * Kolkata to Sittwe: This 539 km stretch between the two seaports will be covered by ship via the Bay of Bengal. Although this route has technically been operational for decades, India has invested significant resources to upgrade the Sittwe port to increase its capacity. This part of the project has been completed. * Sittwe to Paletwa: This 158 km stretch on the Kaladan river in Myanmar will be covered by boat. The MEA has invested in dredging the river, and constructing requisite jetty facilities at Paletwa to handle 300-tonne barges. The river is navigable and all work has bee completed on this part of the project. *Paletwa to Zorinpui: This 108 km four-lane road will be the last leg of the corridor in Myanmar. Myanmar has granted all approvals for this part of the project, and the Integrated Customs & Immigration Checkpost at Zochawchhuah-Zorinpui has been operational since 2017. But the last 50-odd-km of this highway (from Kaletwa, Myanmar to Zorinpui) is yet to be completed. *Zorinpui to Aizwal & beyond: While Zorinpui is connected to Aizwal and the rest of the Northeast by road, the NHIDCL plans to eventually extend the high-speed corridor from Shillong all the way to the border town, The Indian Express reported. Behind long delay Although work on the KMMTTP began a decade and a half ago, the political situation in the Rakhine State has precluded the corridor from becoming operational. The project was set to be completed in 2016. Myanmar is among the most ethnically diverse countries in the world, while the Bamar/Burman make up more than 65% of the population, there are well over 100 ethnic minorities spread across the country. Since 1948, when it received independence from British rule, Myanmar's many ethnic minorities have been in armed conflict with the Bamar-dominated state (and often each other). This conflict once again picked up after a military coup in 2021 ousted the nominally civilian government that had been in place in Yangon for a decade. A BBC study published in December 2024 estimated that the Tatmadaw (Myanmar's military) controls only 21% of territory, with the rest divided among a dozen or so warring ethnic militias. Much of the Rakhine State — through which the KMMTTP passes — is currently under control of the Arakan Army, now rebranded with the more-inclusive moniker Rakhine Army. To get the corridor operational, New Delhi will thus have to deal with an ethnic militia which Yangon has officially designated as a terrorist outfit. That, along with the fact that Rakhine State has seen some of the worst fighting in the civil war, has been a major stumbling block for the KMMTTP. In 2022, India inked a new contract with IRCON International Limited, a public sector undertaking of the Indian Railways. The terms of the deal require IRCON to sub-contract the construction of the incomplete sections of the highway, and finish the project within 40 months. One clause in the agreement, however, adds that this deadline can be extended for reasons including 'war, riots, [and] civil disorder'. While IRCON has signed up some local contractors, the project is yet to make a headway. Notably, the Arakan Army itself claims to support the construction of the highway. 'We have been providing security for the project along the Kaladan since 2021. There is no security threat for the project,' Khaing Thu Kha, spokesperson of the Arakan Army, told The Diplomat in 2024.
News18
17-05-2025
- Business
- News18
Proposed Kolkata-Northeast Link To Pass Via Sea, Giving Bangladesh A Miss
Last Updated: The Shillong-Silchar highway project will extend a key transport route in Myanmar, offering an alternative sea link between North-East states and Kolkata. In a significant development, the proposed highway project linking Meghalaya's Shillong and Assam's Silchar will become an extension of a key multi-modal transport project in Myanmar. The proposed road project will also lead to an alternative link via sea between the North-East states and Kolkata, reported The Indian Express while quoting an National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) official. The project is being described as a response to Bangladesh interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus's remark in Beijing this March that North-East India is 'landlocked" and Dhaka is the 'only guardian of the ocean for all this region". Yunus made the remarks while seeking 'extension of the Chinese economy". A few days later, on April 4, Yunus met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. The Ministry of External Affairs had said that PM Modi told Yunus that 'rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided". 166.8-km Proposed Highway The proposed four-lane highway will span across 166.8-km along NH-6 from Mawlyngkhung near Shillong to Panchgram near Silchar. It is being implemented by NHIDCL for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). It will be first high-speed corridor project in the North-East and is expected to be completed by 2030. Meanwhile, the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar is being funded by the Ministry of External Affairs — and links the Kolkata seaport to the Sittwe port on the Kaladan river in Rakhine state. Further, the Sittwe port connects to Paletwa in Myanmar through an inland waterway and to Zorinpui in Mizoram through a road section. However, Bangladesh has restricted access via Bay of Bengal while maintaining its stronghold on movement through water in the region. Hence, the Kaladan project was jointly identified by India and Myanmar as an alternative — the link is expected to be fully operational by the time the Shillong-Silchar highway is completed. The construction of the Shillong-Sichar highway will involve major engineering work, including slope stabilisation to predict landslides, as the alignment traverses through difficult hilly terrain. Further, the Centre approved the project at a cost of Rs 22,864 crore on April 30. Of the total 166.8-km project, 144.8 km lies in Meghalaya while Assam will get 22 km in its share. Once operational, the highway will reduce the travel time from 8.30 hours to just 5 hours. Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN-News18. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: May 17, 2025, 17:28 IST
Indian Express
16-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
New North-East link to Kolkata will be via sea, giving Bangladesh a miss
The proposed highway from Shillong in Meghalaya to Silchar in Assam will become an extension of a key multi-modal transport project in Myanmar, leading to an alternative link via sea between the North-East states and Kolkata, a senior official from National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) told The Indian Express. The official described the project as a response to Bangladesh interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus's remark in Beijing this March that North-East India is 'landlocked' and Dhaka is the 'only guardian of the ocean for all this region' — he said this while seeking 'extension of the Chinese economy'. Days later, on April 4, Yunus met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. The Ministry of External Affairs said Modi told Yunus that 'rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided'. The 166.8-km four-lane highway along NH-6 from Mawlyngkhung near Shillong to Panchgram near Silchar is the first high-speed corridor project in the North-East. It is being implemented by NHIDCL for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), and is expected to be completed by 2030. At the other end, the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar is being funded by the Ministry of External Affairs — and connects the Kolkata seaport to the Sittwe port on the Kaladan river in Rakhine state. Further, the Sittwe port connects to Paletwa in Myanmar through an inland waterway and to Zorinpui in Mizoram through a road section. 'The NHIDCL will take the project further from Zorinpui to Lawngtlai to Aizawl in Mizoram. This is not only the first high-speed corridor in the North-East, but the first such project in the hilly region. Shillong-Silchar is significant as Silchar is the entry point for connecting Mizoram, Tripura and Manipur as well as the Barak Valley region of Assam. Thus, it will become a major connectivity link for the entire North-East and an important milestone for developing the region as a gateway for India's Act East Policy,' the NHIDCL official said. 'With the help of the Kaladan project, cargo will reach from Vizag and Kolkata to the North-East, without being dependent on Bangladesh. The high speed-corridor will ensure transportation of goods via road after that, which will spur economic activity in the region,' the official said. Currently, the only access to the seven North-East states is through the Siliguri Corridor, also called the 'Chicken's Neck', for the rest of India. The other two points of entry are through Bangladesh and Myanmar. Bangladesh has, however, curtailed access via Bay of Bengal while maintaining its stronghold on movement through water in the region. Hence, the Kaladan project was jointly identified by India and Myanmar as an alternative — the link is expected to be fully operational by the time the Shillong-Silchar highway is completed. The construction of the Shillong highway will involve major engineering work, including slope stabilisation to predict landslides, as the alignment traverses through difficult hilly terrain. On April 30, the Union Cabinet approved the project at a cost of Rs 22,864 crore. Of the total length of the project, 144.8 km lies in Meghalaya and 22 km in Assam. Once operational, the new alignment will reduce journey time from 8.30 hours to just 5 hours. According to the NHIDCL official, the new highway will reduce dependency on the Siliguri Corridor. 'While the project is of strategic importance, it is also going to be one of the most challenging ones as the terrain is very difficult and the existing condition of the road is not good,' he said. 'The National Institute of the Rock Mechanics has been roped in for the detailed study of the rock in the region. We will deploy modern technology and machinery in the construction to provide all-weather connectivity. We will have slope stabilisation to predict the landslide so the movement of traffic can be stopped. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) scanning has been used for topographical surveys. Based on the data collected from surveys, three solutions have been proposed — strengthening by rock anchors, high strength wire mesh panels and protection walls,' the official said. Modern instruments would be deployed to monitor the slope after its stabilisation and construction of various protective measures, he said. 'Piezometer, Rain Gauge, Settlement Gauge, Inclinometer, Geophones, etc., are key equipment which will be installed for the monitoring,' the official said. Geophones are used for vibration monitoring in seismic and geotechnical projects. Inclinometers are used in hill slope monitoring to detect and measure ground deformation, indicating potential slope instability or landslide movement. Rain gauge helps in measuring rainfall, settlement gauges are used to monitor vertical movement or settlements within hill slopes, and piezometers are used for monitoring pore water pressure in hill slopes. The Shillong-Silchar project will be implemented in Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM), one of the forms of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). It will have 19 major bridges, 153 minor bridges, 326 culverts, 22 underpasses, 26 overpasses, eight limited height subway and 34 viaducts. Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal correspondent with The Indian Express, Business Bureau. He covers India's two key ministries- Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. He frequently uses the Right to Information (RTI) Act for his stories, which have resulted in many impactful reports. ... Read More
