India to Link Meghalaya-Myanmar, Boost Waterway Transit

30 May 2017

The Government of India plans to begin construction of the highway connecting Meghalaya to Myanmar in June 2017, according to Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport, Highways, and Shipping, India. The $774 million (Rs5,000 crore) project is part of the 1,400-kilometer (km) India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) Trilateral Highway linking India with Southeast Asia, through Mae Sot, Thailand via Myanmar. The IMT Trilateral Highway is expected to boost trade and commerce in the ASEAN–India Free Trade Area, and with the rest of Southeast Asia.

The Government also plans to build a waterway connecting Myanmar to Bangladesh through the Brahmaputra River, according to Minister Gadkari, to provide a more cost-effective way of transporting goods to/from Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The Government aims to put 10 of the country's 111 waterways into operation by 2018, allocating around $311 million (Rs2,000 crore) budget. Beginning with National Waterway 1, the 1,360-km stretch of the Ganga River between Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and the seaport of Haldia in West Bengal is being developed into a modern inland water transport fairway with state-of-the-art infrastructure and navigation services. The World Bank approved a $375 million loan support for this project in April 2017.


Related Links:

Mr. Amit Shah, Home Minister of the Government of India, laid the foundation stone for the second cargo...

Read More


The 21st meeting of the Bangladesh-India Joint Steering Committee on Cooperation in the Power Sector was held at...

Read More


The Government of Bhutan has approved the country’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 28 April...

Read More


Nepal's Finance (Revenue) Secretary Ram Prasad Ghimire presented awards to the ...

Read More


India's National Logistics Policy (NLP) was launched in September 2022 to reduce logistics cost in the country by...

Read More


Mr. Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, Minister of State for Shipping of the Government of Bangladesh, stated that transit and...

Read More


Japan has proposed the development of a new industrial hub for the Bay of Bengal region. The hub,...

Read More