India to rebuild Sittwe Port ahead of schedule
By admin • Jun 26th, 2008 • Category: Kaladan projectMr Jairam Ramesh union minister of state for commerce & power said that India would complete the prestigious project of rebuilding and expanding the Sittwee port in the Arakan region of Myanmar on the Bay of Bengal in four years by 2012, one year ahead of the current estimated schedule.
Mr Ramesh, leading a high level official delegation, has visited the Sittwe port in Myanmar, which India is rebuilding and expanding as part of the Kaladan multi-modal transit cum transport project.
Mr Ramesh said that an additional component of the project will be the highway connecting the border point in Mizoram to NH 54, for which the NHAI will take up the work as the Kaladan project commences. He added that IWAI has already received nine bids from reputed consulting firms for engagement as engineering consultants and the final choice will be made by the first week of September 2008, after which work on the Kaladan project will commence in full swing.
This project comprises four components
1. Rebuilding the infrastructure at Sittwe port
2. Making the Kaladan River commercially navigable for a stretch of 225 kilometers up to Kaletwa in Myanmar
3. Building infrastructure at Kaletwa
4. Constructing a 62 kilometers long highway from Kaletwa to Mizoram
Thus, the Kaladan project is of vital strategic importance to India since it provides an alternative access route to the north east. The sea distance between Kolkata and Sittwe is about 540 kilometers.
The project will also provide for greater connectivity between the north east and ASEAN countries. Inland Waterway Authority of India is the project development consultant and the entire cost of around INR 546 crore is being borne by the government of India.
