Junta, Indian officials discuss continued implementation of stalled Kaladan transport project

By Admin 11 Jul 2024

DMG Newsroom
11 July 2024, Sittwe

The Myanmar junta’s deputy foreign minister U Lwin Oo and Bibekananda Bhattamishra, outgoing Consul-General of the Consulate-General of India in Arakan State’s Sittwe, discussed the stalled Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport project when they met in Naypyidaw on Wednesday.

The two discussed continued collaboration in the implementation of the India-funded Kaladan project and other development projects in Arakan State, junta media reported.

Residents say the regime is not in a position to continue the project as it has lost much of the territory it previously held along the route, with the notable exception of the Arakan State capital Sittwe.

“The route stretches from Paletwa to Sittwe. Except for Sittwe, other areas are in the hands of the Arakkha Army (AA). So, the Indian government must hold talks with the AA,” said Kyauktaw resident Ko Tun Tin. “The Indian government will continue to discuss with the junta about the project as it needs to do so diplomatically.”

When Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar met his Myanmar counterpart Than Swe in June, he urged the regime to effectively protect neighbouring India’s investments in Myanmar.

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.

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.

The part of the project that has remained incomplete is a highway running 129 kilometres from Paletwa in Chin State to Zorinpui, at the border of the two countries. The waterway along the Kaladan River to Sittwe via Kyauktaw and Ponnagyun townships stretches 158 kilometres.