India-Funded Sittwe Port Opens in Myanmar, Boosting Regional Economic Development

New Delhi: Indian Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Myanmar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Transport & Communications, Admiral Tin Aung San, jointly inaugurated the Sittwe Port in Myanmar on Wednesday.

This port, built with Indian assistance, will play a key role in connectivity and would lead to a 50% reduction in the cost and time of transportation of goods between Kolkata, Agartala, and Aizawl. It forms a link in India’s Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, connecting Kolkata in eastern India to Sittwe on Myanmar’s western coast. From there, the corridor traces an inland route through Myanmar via the Kaladan River and a highway, crossing into northeastern India.

The operationalisation of Sittwe Port would enhance bilateral and regional trade as well as contribute to the local economy of the Rakhine State of Myanmar. The greater connectivity provided by the Port will lead to employment opportunities and enhanced growth prospects in the region.

This project was conceptualised to provide alternative connectivity of Mizoram with Haldia/Kolkata/any Indian ports through the Kaladan River in Myanmar. The project envisages highway road transport from Mizoram to Paletwa (Myanmar), thereafter from Paletwa to Sittwe (Myanmar) by Inland Water Transport (IWT) and from Sittwe to any port in India by maritime shipping.

The inauguration ceremony was also highlighted by Union Minister Sonowal, who emphasized the close historical, cultural and economic ties between India and Myanmar, particularly in the Rakhine state. However, it is the Rakhine state that is the troubled region of Myanmar, where the Rohingya community is primarily based. Despite political persecution and detentions in the country, India and China, who are of geo-strategic importance to Myanmar, have not followed Western sanctions.