ADB to fund major highway project linking India’s North-East and Myanmar

June 20, 2013

Warning: Undefined variable $thumb in /var/www/web/indiantollways.com/wp-content/plugins/digg-digg/include/dd-class.php on line 887

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is set to provide financing for a major highway project that will link India’s North-East (NE) region to Myanmar.

This latest project comes at the time when India’s commerce minister Anand Sharma set a bilateral trade target of $3bn by 2015 in his recent visit to Myanmar.

In addition, India is planning to launch a bus service from Moreh to Myanmar’s Mandalay, along with an integrated check-post in Moreh in order to facilitate the transportation of goods and services at the borders of the two countries.

{“The planned highway, which is in accordance with

India’s Look-East policy,will connect

Agartala, Silchar, Imphal and Moreh with Myanmar.” }

Officials from ADB have recently visited Manipur for a technical survey and presented their preliminary aid memo to the Indian road ministry, which is examining the appropriate alignment and several other technical aspects before okaying the project.

A Road Ministry official was quoted by The Indian Economic Times as saying that the ADB is interested in financing four-lane highways, which has to be in line with traffic conditions in these regions.

According to experts, the proposed highway project is vital for India, as well as for other countries, such as Japan that are seeking to restrict China’s dominance over lesser-developed countries in South-East Asia.

India offered help to Myanmar in upgrading its 160km-long Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road as well as in constructing the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project, among other developments.

India’s Look East policy, initiated in 1991, represents the country’s efforts to develop extensive economic and strategic relations with South-East Asian countries in order to strengthen its position as a regional power and a counterweight to the strategic influence of China.