[Assam] A couple of articles worth reading

Wed Mar 7 00:31:32 EST 2007

Umesh

I am sure the GOI must have taken some things into account. It is
conceivable that Myanmar needs economic aid in developing a good port at
Rakhine. As far as the NE is concerned, this may be the "gateway" to SE
Asia.

As far as a port in a foreign country, I think there are some examples
worldwide and arrangements can be mutually beneficial.

--Ram da

On 3/6/07, umesh sharma <jaipurschool at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Ram-da,
>
> This seems like either a very stupid or very brilliant plan. Building a
> port in a neighboring country - I never of this one before
>
> ***Nava Thakuria
> NORTHEAST India may not have a port but, if all goes well, the landlocked
> region might exploit the possibility of just such a facility in Myanmar. The
> Indian government is planning to develop a port in Sittwe, capital of
> northwest Myanmar province
> Rakhine (earlier known as Arakan) is less than 400 km from Aizawl,
> Mizoram's capital, and if the plan works out, northeast India will be
> connected with the port — overland and through river ways. Called the
> Kaladan Multi-modal Project, it includes developing the Kaladan river to
> connect northeast India (through a road link from Kalewa in Myanmar to
> Aizawl) with the Bay of Bengal. As the crow flies, 400 km separates Sittwe
> from Aizawl.
> "New Delhi wants to connect the northeast with the commercial sea routes.
> Moreover, with the development of Sittwe port and the Kaladan river as a
> navigation efficient, the region is expected to have another viable access
> to the Association of South East Asian Nations," said minister of state for
> commerce Jairam Ramesh during a recent visit to the northeast. He also said
> arrangements would allow the movement of cargo ships from Sittwe to any
> Indian port.
> The northeast — comprising Asom, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur,
> Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Sikkim — is surrounded by Nepal, Bhutan,
> Tibet (China), Myanmar and Bangladesh. With a cumulative population of
> nearly 50 million, the region is connected to the mainland by way of a
> "Chicken Neck" in North Bengal. More precisely, only two per cent of the
> region's territory is attached with the country.
> Conceived and proposed by the External Affairs Ministry in 2003, the
> project — having obtained approval from the Planning Commission — has also
> been okayed by the Myanmarese government. It now awaits formal Cabinet
> approval, which is expected very soon after certain financial issues
> regarding its commercial viability and rate of returns are resolved.
> The Kaladan flows from Mizoram to Sittwe (formerly Akyab) through another
> Myanmarese state named Chin (the capital city is Haka), and is the biggest
> waterway in the locality. The coastal region in western Myanmar is separated
> from the mainland by the Rakhine Yoma mountain range. Sittwe port, at the
> mouth of the Kaladan on the Rakhine coast, is an important harbour that
> emerged as a centre for rice export after British occupation in 1826.
> Earlier, it was a small fishing and farmer community.
> "The Kaladan project will include shipping, riverine and road transport,"
> said Ramesh, adding that it would require nearly $1.1 billion in investment.
> New Delhi has decided to spend around $100 million and will, moreover,
> assume the major burden. The Myanmarese junta, known as the State Peace and
> Development Council, while consenting to the proposal, has shown a
> reluctance to invest. It has merely assured free land for the project, which
> is why New Delhi has agreed to offer a soft loan to the SPDC as its share
> ($10 million).
> The Kaladan project is anticipated to be completed within four years and
> will include the construction of roads from Kalewa to Saiha (Mizoram
> border). Later, this road will be connected to India's National Highway 54
> inside Mizoram. The project will be executed by India's public sector Rail
> India Technical Economic Services organisation and is expected to be
> commissioned by 2009.
> During foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee's recent visit to Myanmar (19-21
> January), where he met Prime Minister General Soe Win, planning and economic
> development minister U Soe Tha and his counterpart, U Nyan, elaborate
> discussions were held on the Kaladan project in respect of investment as
> well. An earlier meeting between high ranking officials from the Light
> Infantry Battalion (Myanmar) and engineers from Mizoram was organised in
> Lawng Tlai, a border town, where many issues relating to the development of
> the waterway adjacent to Mizoram were discussed. Meanwhile, a delegation of
> Mizoram government officials met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in Delhi
> on 19 January to discuss the project. They studied the detailed project
> report prepared by Rites in the presence of high-level officials of the
> Union government.
> New Delhi's move to invest in a Myanmarese port assumes significance in
> view of Dhaka's reluctance to give India access to Chittagong port, which is
> nearer to the northeast. Moreover, the Bangladesh government has been
> showing an unwillingness to provide space to run a gas pipeline from Myanmar
> to Kolkata through its territory. Chittagong port is less than 200 km from
> Agartala (Tripura).
> New Delhi's plan is to engage Myanmar's military regime in a greater
> economic exercise to prevent China's prevalence in that southeast Asian
> country.
>
> (The author is a Guwahati-based journalist and editor of Natun Somoy.)
>
> *Ram Sarangapani <assamrs at gmail.com>* wrote:
>
>  *http://thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=14&theme=&usrsess=1&id=148808
> *
> **
> *http://thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=14&theme=&usrsess=1&id=148811
> *
> **
> *The above from the Statesman, Calcutta. Hope you all find it interesting.
> *
> **
> **
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>
>
>
> Umesh Sharma
> 5121 Lackawanna ST
> College Park,
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>
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>
> Ed.M. - International Education Policy
> Harvard Graduate School of Education,
> Harvard University,
> Class of 2005
>
> weblog: http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
> website: www.gse.harvard.edu/iep
>
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