Sittwe Port - Strategic Importance for India | UPSC Notes

Sittwe Port: An Overview

Image source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Located in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, Sittwe Port is a deep-sea port on the Bay of Bengal, jointly inaugurated by India and Myanmar.

• Sittwe Port forms a crucial part of the ambitious Kaladan Multimodal Project. The port is expected to enhance trade connectivity and foster people-to-people relations between India, Myanmar, and the wider South Asian region.
• The port is also anticipated to stimulate economic growth in India's North Eastern region, aligning with the government's Act East policy.
• Moreover, Sittwe Port is poised to serve as India's gateway to South East Asia, which could catalyze regional growth and development.
• Constructed with the objective of creating an alternate connectivity route to North East India, the port was financed through a grant from India and forms part of the $484 million Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP).
• From Sittwe Port, the route extends to Paletwa in Myanmar through an inland waterway and from Paletwa to Zorinpui in Mizoram via a road component.
• According to government sources, the route through Sittwe Port is more feasible for trade and commerce compared to the existing Siliguri Chicken Neck corridor route.
• To put this into perspective, the road journey from Kolkata to Agartala is 1600 km and takes four days. In contrast, the route through Sittwe to Chittagong to Sarboom to Agartala only takes two days, saving both cost and time.
• The agreement for the project was signed in 2009. Over the years, the project has gained strategic importance due to escalating tensions with China stemming from border disputes and an expansionist approach.
• Establishing an infrastructural presence in Myanmar was a key objective for India, which has been successfully achieved with the inauguration of Sittwe Port.

To further understand the strategic importance of Sittwe Port, please refer to the wealth of resources available online.

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