Coasters granted access to India-funded Sittwe Port

By Admin 21 Sep 2023

DMG Newsroom
21 September 2023, Sittwe
 
Local coasters have been given access to the India-funded Sittwe Port in the Arakan State capital Sittwe since September 20, according to the Rakhine State Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RSCCI).
 
“Access to Sittwe Port will facilitate the loading and unloading process, said U Tin Aung Oo, the RSCCI chairman.
 
“This will help shorten the loading and unloading process. Previously, as there was no pier, vessels could only dock in deep water away from the port, and cargo had to be carried to the port with smaller vessels. As large vessels can use the port now, it will shorten the loading and unloading process,” he added.
 
Only ships carrying humanitarian aid were allowed to use the port following Cyclone Mocha, which hit Arakan State on May 14. Coasters had requested that they be allowed to use the port, and their request has now been granted.
 
Access to Sittwe Port will boost Arakan State’s import and export sector, said businessman U Khin Maung Gyi. 

“It will help bring down food prices to a certain extent,” he added.
 
The port can handle ships weighing 5,000 to 6,000 tonnes. Local residents in Sittwe are optimistic that coasters’ access to Sittwe Port will create job opportunities for them.
 
“There are few ports in Sittwe. Access to a big port like that will facilitate loading and unloading of cargo,” said a freight forwarder in Sittwe.
 
Myanmar and India signed an agreement on the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project in 2008, and construction of the project began in 2010. Sittwe Port is part of Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project.
 
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.