India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) Trilateral Highway Project
Recently Myanmar has objected to the presence of the Border Roads Organization (BRO) in the tripartite road project.
The Central Government has informed the Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs about the objections of the Government of Myanmar to the role of the Border Roads Organization (BRO) in the following projects.
These projects are:
- India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) Trilateral Highway Project and Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport (KMTT) Project.
- The Ministry is considering the option of other agencies like NPCC, NHAI, IRCON and RITES to implement the project after Myanmar raised objections.
IMT Trilateral Highway Project
- This 1360 km long highway is an under-construction highway under India’s ‘Look East Policy’. It will connect Moreh in India to Mae Sot in Thailand via Myanmar.
- This highway will provide impetus to trade and commerce with the ASEAN India Free Trade Area and the rest of Southeast Asia.
- It has also been proposed by India to extend the highway to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Kaladan Multiple Mode Transit-Transport Project (KMTT) Project
- It is a multimodal transport project with three distinct systems including shipping, inland water and road transport.
- The project connects Kolkata Port with Sittwe Port in Myanmar by sea route. After this, by inland water transport on the Kaladan River, it connects Sittwe to Paletwa and by road crossing the Indo-Myanmar border, connecting Paletwa to India.
- It will reduce the distance between Kolkata and Mizoram by about 1000 km. Also, the transportation time will save 3-4 days for freight.
Source – The Hindu
