535 crore for Sittwe port

Major Events Vol. 3 Issue No. 46

April 1-15, 2008

535 crore for Sittwe port

The Centre has cleared Rs. 535.91 crore aid to facilitate upgradation of the Sittwe Port. The announcement came just ahead of the visit of Myanmar’s Vice-Senior General Maung Aye, Myanmar’s second most senior military leader. Observers believe that the gesture will prepare the ground for smooth handing over of the port to India. Official formalities, in this connection, are expected to be completed during General Maung Aye’s visit.

An official spokesperson announced that the Union Cabinet has sanctioned the expenditure under ‘Aid to Myanmar’ funds for upgradation of Sittwe Port and Kaladan Waterway and construction of a road from Setyitpyin (Kaletwa) to the India-Myanmar border.

The project also includes construction of 117 km road on the Indian side from India-Myanmar border up to NH-54 and to carry out pre-construction activities in India by the Department of Road Transport and Highway under separate fund allocation. Inland Waterways Authority of India, however, would execute the project.

The project work including upgradation of port and waterway and construction of road from Kaletwa to Indo-Myanmar border is expected to be completed by 2011-12.

The Union Cabinet further cleared the signing of the Framework Agreement and Protocol on Facilitation of Transit Transport and Protocol on Maintenance and Administration, the spokesperson said.

The project is envisaged to provide access to Mizoram and to other north-eastern States, as well as an outlet to the sea.

India and Myanmar has been negotiating since 2003, and at least six rounds of dialogues have been held so far. India and Myanmar have already initiated the Draft Framework Agreement on the Project, Draft Protocol on Facilitation of Transit Transport, Draft Protocol on Financial Arrangements and Draft Protocol on Joint Maintenance and Administration.

As reported earlier, the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Facility envisages connectivity between Indian ports on the eastern seaboard and Sittwe Port in Myanmar and then through riverine transport and by road to Mizoram.

The project involves development of a trade route between the two countries along the river Kaladan. The Kaladan river is navigable from its confluence point with the Bay of Bengal near Sittwe up to Setpyitpyin (Kaletwa), Myanmar, on its North. Beyond this the river is not navigable.

Transportation by road is proposed for this stretch. From Sittwe Port to Kaletwa, transportation will be by waterway and from Kaletwa to India-Myanmar border transportation will be by road.

According to a report prepared by the Ministry DoNER, Kolkata Port is at a distance of 539 km from Sittwe by sea, while the distance to Setpyitpyin to River Kaladan is another 225 km and then to India-Myanmar border another 62 km by road.

The handling points along the Indo-Myanmar border have been identified as Hmawngbu (Mobu) in Mizoram, and in Myanmar, it is Myeikwa.

India and Burma to sign agreement on port development

Meanwhile, it has been reported that an official agreement between India and Burma to develop the Burmese port of Sittwe in Rakhine state is due to be signed soon. According to a senior Indian official, India will host a high ranking general from Burma’s military government in April 2008.

Reports quoted the official saying that Maung Aye vice senior general of Burma is due to arrive in India on 4th April 2008 to discuss economic, security and energy issues and that the highlight of the visit would be the agreement to develop Sittwe.

The USD 120 million cost of the build transfer & use project will be funded by a grant from the Indian government. Berth users will be charged for services offered by the port once it has been upgraded and handed over to the Burmese.

Meanwhile, Jairam Ramesh union minister of state for commerce said that the project had been under discussion for almost 6 years. He added that “But a paradigm shift in our thinking, thanks to the Prime Minister and external affairs minister, resulted in changing it from a build operate transfer project into a build transfer & use venture. The Myanmar authorities had serious reservations on a build operate transfer approach and so we switched over to this new concept.”

Ramesh said that the project involved 3 components namely rebuilding the port, making the Kaladan River navigable up to Mizoram and developing highway connectivity from the border in Mizoram.

Indian analysts said that Sittwe could an important gateway for India’s landlocked north eastern states. The states include Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, all of which will gain access to international sea trade routes through the Bay of Bengal.

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