Guwahati: The Sittwe port, which will connect Paletwa town in Myanmar's Chin state to Mizoram, is developed and ready for operation. The port, at the mouth of Kaladan river, will provide an alternative route to India's landlocked northeastern states.
Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, "Sittwe port is developed and ready for operation. This project is monitored by the Union ministry of External Affairs (MEA). We were entrusted with building infrastructure and also dredging, which we did splendidly."
"Mizoram and other states will be hugely benefited from this project. There is a little bit of a road connectivity issue in Myanmar, once that is complete everything will be there," Mr Sonowal stated.
A two-lane highway of 117 km near Lawngtlai (Mizoram) to the Myanmar border to provide road linkage to Sittwe port in Myanmar is being developed.
The project envisaged from Sittwe Port to Kaletwa, transportation will be by waterway and from Kaletwa to India-Myanmar border transportation will be by road. The river Kaladan has a tidal difference of 2.9 meters, problems start during winter when the reservoirs of the river have less water. The project has made the river navigable throughout the year.
Mr Sonowal said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the foundation stones for two major initiatives while inaugurating Maritime Skill Centre for Northeast to ramp up capacity in Pandu port in Guwahati on January 13, 2023.
The other initiatives are the Ship Repair Facility at Pandu multi-modal terminal and an elevated road connecting with the multi-modal Terminal at Pandu with National Highway 27 in Guwahati.