Junta official says local coasters will be given access to India-funded port in Sittwe

By Admin 31 Jul 2023

DMG Newsroom
31 July 2023, Sittwe

Local coasters will be given access to the India-funded Sittwe Port upon completion of relief operations to help victims of Cyclone Mocha, according to the Arakan State Military Council (ASMC).

Currently, the port is used by ships carrying relief aid from India for victims of the storm in Arakan State.

ASMC spokesman U Hla Thein said: “Ships carrying relief supplies are currently busy at Phaungdawgyi and Kaladan jetties. When the relief operation is over, private ships may be able to use [Sittwe Port].”

A Sittwe Port official said: “Local vessels still can’t use the port as it is occupied by ships carrying humanitarian aid.”

Currently, coasters use two other ports in Sittwe operated by the state-owned enterprise Myanmar Port Authority. Coaster owners have complained about red tape at those two ports.

“The port charge [of the India-funded Sittwe Port] is not much higher than the government rate,” said the chairman of the Arakan State coaster owner association, U Shwe Kyaw. “However, they charge high rent for using their crane to load and unload cargo. So, we will have to negotiate with them if we can use our workers to load and unload cargo.”

Merchants and coaster owners have expressed hopes to gain access to the India-funded Sittwe Port, which was opened on May 9 as part of the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project. The port can handle international ships weighing 5,000 to 6,000 tonnes.

The US$484 million India-funded Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project will provide an alternative route for connectivity from India’s eastern coast to the northeastern states through the Sittwe Port. The port links to Paletwa in Myanmar via an inland waterway and from Paletwa to Zorinpui in Mizoram via a road segment.