New port in Sittwe to open soon, says Arakan State military council member

By DMG 28 Dec 2022

DMG Newsroom
28 December 2022, Sittwe

A new port in Sittwe that is part of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project will be opened soon to allow direct trade between Myanmar and India, according to the Arakan State military council.

It is not yet known exactly when the new Sittwe Port will be launched, but once the port is open, trade between the two countries will be mutually beneficial, said U San Shwe Maung, a member of the Arakan State military council and the Arakan State minister of commerce.

“This new port will benefit trade between the two countries. People in Arakan State used to trade in this way during the time of the Mrauk-U and Waithali eras. Commodities from all over the world arrived at Mrauk-U and were shipped back to the rest of the world through it. A port is beneficial to people,” he added.

Upon completion of road and bridge projects that are also part of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, it will be possible to trade overland from India’s Mizoram State to Paletwa Township in Chin State, as well as facilitating trade along the Kaladan River to Sittwe Port.

Completion of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project is expected to speed up the flow of goods from Arakan State to destinations abroad.

“It is expected to become a form of border trade. If the road is opened now, the economy will be very developed and Kyauktaw town will be very crowded. If the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project is fully implemented, Arakan State will improve greatly,” said U Than Shwe, chairman of the Arakan State rice millers association.

Implementation of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project has suffered delays due to a variety of factors including clashes between the Myanmar Army and the Arakan Army (AA) in Arakan State in 2019.

The US$484 million project, which is being funded by India, will include two major land and sea routes: a waterway from Sittwe to Paletwa and a road link from Paletwa to Mizoram. Construction of the road from Paletwa to Zorinpui in Mizoram has been impeded by the region’s precarious security situation.

Arakanese businessman U Khin Maung Gyi said that finishing construction of the road and bridge components of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project would allow for more business opportunities in the region.

“After this project, businessmen from Arakan State will expand their businesses. Due to India’s export and import business, Arakanese businessmen will invest and work. If that is the case, employment opportunities for locals will open up to a certain extent,” he said.

Myanmar and India signed a bilateral agreement in 2008 to connect the port and inland water transport terminals in Sittwe and Paletwa to the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram, also linking from Sittwe to the port city of Kolkata in “mainland” India.

When it comes to the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, it is necessary to clearly communicate its benefits to local people living in the project area, according to Ko Tin Oo, managing director of the Arakan Rivers Network.

He has said the public benefit, as well as the project’s environmental and social impacts, need to be better explained to the public as a whole.