Syed Ali Mujtaba, Mizzima News
August 8, 2007 - India has offered Burma immediate use of the Sittwe port in Arakan once it is ready for navigational purposes. The offer was made after Burma expressed reservations over New Delhi’s earlier proposal where India wanted to develop the port and operate it for some time before transferring its use.
The $120-million project envisages upgrading the port and a linked waterway to upper Burma, from which, a road is to be built to connect India with Mizoram state. This proposed multimodal route through Burma is meant to serve as an alternative gateway to India’s north-eastern states.
Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have confirmed that the revised offer has been approved by the MEA. “India’s new offer to Myanmar on the development of the Sittwe port has been approved by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee,” MEA sources said.
“The new package envisages immediate transfer of the port to Myanmar after it is made suitable for larger vessels. It overcomes Myanmar’s sensitivities,” sources added.
“Earlier, India wanted to develop the port and operate it for some time before transferring it to Myanmar [Burma]. But this idea was hanging fire and there was a lack of response from our neighbouring country. As a result this project could not take off,” sources said.
The new offer made by New Delhi to Burma is a major shift in India’s strategic thinking. It also gives an idea of the level it can go to, in accommodating Burma ’s sensitivities, the sources said.
“If this project becomes a reality, the connectivity of the rest of India with the north-east and north-east Asia would improve significantly. Myanmar [Burma ] will benefit from additional revenue collected through goods going to India. It will also have a 225-km-long navigable waterway in the bargain,” sources added.
India has proposed RITES as the prime contractor for the project, which is expected to be completed in three years from the date of approval.
