India-Myanmar Kaladan Project "EMPOWER IAS"

In news;

• External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Monday said the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project was in the final stages despite delays due to various challenges.

About Kaladan project:

• • The Kaladan project connects Sittwe Port in Myanmar to the India-Myanmar border.
  • The project was jointly initiated by India and Myanmar to create a multi-modal platform for cargo shipments from the eastern ports to Myanmar and to the North-eastern parts of the country through Myanmar.

• • Significance: It is expected to open up sea routes and promote economic development in the North-eastern states, and also add value to the economic, commercial and strategic ties between India and Myanmar. This project will reduce distance from Kolkata to Sittwe by approximately 1328 km and will reduce the need to transport good through the narrow Siliguri corridor, also known as Chicken’s Neck.
  • Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project was in the final stages despite delays due to various challenges.
  • The Sittwe Port has been operational for some time.
  • The Paletwa Inland Water Terminal has also progressed.
  • The road building has been the cause of delay because there are some law and order challenges in that region. But we are now confident that we will be able to push it through.

 

 

• • The $484 million Kaladan project, originally scheduled to be completed by 2014, will connect the Kolkata seaport with Sittwe in Rakhine State of Myanmar by sea.
  • In Myanmar, it will link the Sittwe seaport with Paletwa in the Chin State via the Kaladan river boat route, and then from Paletwa by road to Mizoram.
  • Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project: The Kaladan project is also considered a vital component of India’s multifaceted Act East Policy, which aims at linking up with Southeast Asia through Myanmar.

 

Where is Sittwe located?

• Sittwe is the capital of Rakhine State (which has been in the news for the plight of Rohingya Muslims) in south-western Myanmar. It is located at the mouth of the Kaladan river, which flows into Mizoram in north-eastern India.

 

Significance of this port for India:

• India has for years sought transit access through Bangladesh to ship goods to the landlocked north-eastern States. At present, the only route to this region from the rest of India is a rather circuitous one through a narrow strip of Indian territory nicknamed the Chicken’s Neck in West Bengal, sandwiched between Bhutan and Bangladesh. The new route through Sittwe would significantly lower the cost and distance of movement from Kolkata to Mizoram and beyond.