Way out

New Delhi, March 30: India will send a strong message to Bangladesh with a proposed transit transport project in Myanmar.

Earlier this week, the Union cabinet approved the Rs 535.91-crore project that will give the landlocked Northeastern states access to the sea. The project involves the development of the Sittwe port in Myanmar and facilities along the river Kaladan that runs through the Indian state of Mizoram as well as Myanmar and meets the sea at Sittwe.

New Delhi’s move to invest in the Myanmar port assumes significance in the wake of Dhaka’s reluctance to give India access to the Chittagong port, which is closer to the Northeast. The cabinet note, to which The Telegraph has access, said, “Bangladesh has practically held India, especially the Northeast, to ransom by denying transit through its territory.”

New Delhi plans to roll out the red carpet to the vice-chairman of Myanmar’s State Peace and Development Consul, Maung Aye, who will visit the capital on April 4 to formalise the deal. The State Peace and Development Consul is the ruling junta of Myanmar, and Maung Aye is the second highest ranking member of the consul after Than Shwe.

“The project will convey a strong message to Bangladesh that withholding transit does not mean that it leaves India without an alternative. It is strategically important to get away from Bangladesh on the transit issue,” the note said.

The Chittagong port is less than 200 km from Agartala, which is the capital of Tripura. But Dhaka’s reluctance to provide a transit facility has forced India to opt for Sittwe, which is around 400 km from Aizwal, the capital of Mizoram.

Though India plans to go ahead with the project, officials said it was necessary to see whether the new route would generate adequate revenue to cover the operational and maintenance costs.

The note stated that there would be no transit charge on any Indian vehicle for one year after the completion of the project. Thereafter, the transit charge would be agreed mutually but would not be higher than 2.5 per cent of the invoice value of the cargo and would be payable only once for each consignment. The note also indicated that at a later stage the project could be handed over to private players.