Nava Thakuria, Guwahati

NarinjaraNews, 6 May 2023

Flagged off from Kolkata’s Syama Prasad Mookerjee port on a trial run, an Indian cargo ship issailing towards Sittwe. The newfoundsea route should bring a new hope for northeast India, which is expecting an alternative trade routethan the 20-kilometer Siliguri corridor.

Inaugurating the ship with 1,000 metric tonnes of cement, India’s junior ports, shipping andwaterways minister Shantanu Thakur statedthat the imitative will enhance trade, commerce and economic ties with Myanmar.

Sittwe port has been developed with the financial support from New Delhi under the US $ 484 millionKaladan multi-modal transit transport project. The operationalization of Sittwe port in the Bay of Bengal will pave a new avenue for thedeepwater port to become a maritime hub forMyanmar and to enhance regional connectivity.

Thakur commented thatthe Kaladan project is a live example of the co-operation and
commitments between New Delhi and Naypietaw.

The cargo vessel named MV-ITT LION (V-273) is expected toreach Sittwe on 9 May next. Theinaugural shipment will be received by India’s ports, shipping & waterways and Ayush minister SarbanandaSonowal along with Myanmargovernment representatives in the ancient Rakhine
port city. Sonowal recently commented that the Kaladan initiative under the visionary leadership of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi would emergesas a true reflection of the Centre’s Act East policy.

“Once the Kaladan project is made fully operational, it will provide alternate connectivity from the easterncoast to Northeast, which is a farmore feasible route for trade and commerce than the existing Siliguri route. It will reduce the cost(and time) of transportation ofgoods from Kolkata to Aizawl by more than 50%,” said Sonowal.

He also addedthat the major cargo for export from Myanmar include different types of rice, timber, fish, seafood, garments andtextiles, whereas Myanmar mayimport various construction materials like cement, steel and bricks and others (from India) through Sittwe port.

It is assumed that the vessels will arrive at Sittwe fromdifferent sea routes once itbecomes operational and the goods will betransported via the Kaladan river towards Paletwa covering 158 kilometer. Then the goods will becarried by trucks (through 109 km two-lanehighway via Kaletwa) to enter India through Zorinpui/Lomasu in the southern tip of Mizoram. Fromthe border those goods will arrivein Lawngtlai town (117 km away) connecting National Highway 54.

The latest reports reveal that the dredging in Kaladan to make the vessels transportable was already done.Paletwa water to land terminal hasalso been given the final touch. The 117 km two-lane road connecting Myanmar border withLawngtlai is nearly completed.

The land compensationissue raised by some local residents is also addressed. As the situation in Rakhine State is stable (if not peacefullike the entire nation) followinga ceasefire with Arakan Army, the Kaladanproject is expected to function normally until there is a major breakdown in law-and-order situation inwestern part of Myanmar.