New Delhi, 9 Jan (Agencies): Hope of the completion of the last 109 km of Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport (KMMTT) project has been rekindled after IRCON was recently appointed at the Project Management Consultant (PMC). This ambitious project would link India and Myanmar via the Bay of Bengal.
The project was first proposed by the ministry of external affairs (MEA) in 2008 and work began in 2010 – with an initial deadline of 2014. Its been over two decades and a six times cost escalation (Rs 535 crore to Rs 3200 crore), and the project is yet not complete. The military-led Junta government and its skirmishes with insurgents has oft been cited as the main reasons for delay of the completion of the last leg of this project.
Recently the Junta leader, General Min Aung Hlaing, said he would have free and fair elections. Though he didn’t mention a time frame, its being presumed that it could be during the course of the year. The Junta took over the government on February 1st, 2021. This announcement could give an impetus to this project too.
India has abstained from being critical of the junta, even when political prisoners were executed in Myanmar, but have maintained that they supported a democratic process be restored there.
As of now, in the project the waterways component has been completed, while the construction work on its road component had been slow mainly due to the security situation on the Myanmar side and the pandemic.
The $484 million project is being constructed by India, under the Grant in Aid Scheme. Once completed it will link Kolkata with Sittwe seaport in Rakhine state in Myanmar primarily over the Bay of Bengal – covering over 500 km. However, there is a stretch of land where a 109 km road needs to be constructed, between Paletwa(Myanmar) and Zorinpui (Mizoram’s border), to complete the project, but despite various bids and efforts there has been no breakthrough.
"The stretch of area where the road needs to be constructed is a bit challenging as it is an area that often sees a conflict between the Military Junta and the ethnic groups. This stretch of road is in Chin state parallel to Kalandan river. Post February 2021, after the military coup, the challenges intensified in terms of safety and security.
𝑍𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑁𝑒𝑤𝑠, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑟, 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑙,𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑝, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑜𝑠
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