Port Sittwe: Port Of Hope For Mizoram

Port Sittwe PORT OF HOPE FOR MIZORAM — Rochamliana INTRODUCTION Under the bilateral agreement between Government of India and Government of Myanmar, there is a proposal to develop a trade route between the two countries along the river Kolodyne (generally pronounced Kaladan), known as Chhimtuipui River inside Indian border. River Kolodyne emanates from Central Mizoram and emties into Bay of Bengal at Sittwe — a port located in the State of Rakhine, Myanmar. Kolodyne Project is the strategic edifice that India is building with Myanmar over the past few years as an important trans-border infrastructure project that will let the land-locked north-eastern States gain easy access to the Bay of Bengal through Myanmar. It envisages a Multi-Modal Transport Corridor and, building of a pipeline that will bring natural gas from Myanmar via north-east to the whole India. ‘The feasibility study, carried out in 1999-2000, brought out that river Kolodyne (Chhimtuipui) is navigable from its confluence point with the Bay of Bengal, near Sittwe upto Kaletwa (Setpyitpyin) on its north. Beyond Kaletwa, towards India border, the river is not navigable owing to shallow water depth and frequent rapids. The transport by road is, therefore, proposed for this stretch. The proposed road link from Kaletwa in Myanmar on NH54 forms a part of the proposed development of the trade route along the river Kolodyne (Chhimtuipui) between Mizoram (India) and Chin State in Myanmar. The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transport Project, which is expected to be completed in three years from the date of approval and is expected to be commissioned by end 2009 will link Mizoram with Myanmar as well as rest of the world. It begins from Sittwe Port up the Kolodyne River that flows through Mizoram to the small port of Paletwa in Burma, covering a distance of 222 km. The Port will facilitate movement of cargo vessels on inland water routes along Kolodyne River to Sittwe. ‘It will take 12 hours from Haldia to and 36 hours from Vishakapatnam to connect Sittwe Port. Shri. Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Commerce, Govt. of India, — while meeting Chief Minister of Mizoram Pu Zoramthanga on the first day of his two-day visit to Mizoram during September 2006 spoke of the great economic significance of the Sittwe/ Kaladan Project. India will invest $103 million to redevelop Sittwe Port and improve navigability on the Kolodyne River in Myanmar. This would enable the opening of another route for trade between the north-east and the rest of India with southern Mizoram as the hub. India has proposed the public sector company Rail India Technical Economic Services (RITES - A Government of India Undertaking) as the prime contractor for the project. PORT SITTWE Sittwe, — formerly called Akyab is a town on Western Myanmar. It is the chief settlement of the Arakan region. Situated on the Bay of Bengal at the mouth of the Kolodyne River, — on the Paton Peninsula at the confluence of river Kolodyne into Bay of Bengal. Sittwe occupies the eastern side of a hilly ridge affording shelter from the southwest monsoon. After the cession of Arakan to the British in 1826, Sittwe replaced Myohaung as the region's seat of government and rapidly grew from a small fishing village into a leading port of Burma. Although heavily damaged during World War II, the port was rebuilt, and it handles both coastal and international trade. Rice is the chief export. Sittwe is the site of a dockyard, diesel electric plant and several rice mills. It has air transportation service

and a regular ferry links it with Chittagong in Bangladesh. The town is at the confluence of the Mayu, Kolodyne and Lemro rivers — all navigable. Rice is grown on the alluvial plains. The wet, forested hill ridges of the interior to the east are sparsely populated. Muslims, who migrated there from Bangladesh after the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 outnumber the Buddhist Arakanese in the Sittwe area. The population in Sittwe is 107,607 (1983 Census). The River Kolodyne flows from India’s Mizoram to Sittwe through another Myanmarese State named Chin (capital city is Haka). Kolodyne River is the biggest waterway in the locality. The coastal region in western Myanmar is separated from the mainland by the Rakhine Yoma mountain range. The Sittwe Port, at the mouth of the Kolodyne River in Rakhine coast is an important harbour, which emerged as a center for rice export after British occupation in 1826. STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF SITTWE PORT Northeast comprising now eight states namely — Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Sikkim is surrounded by five international borders — Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet (China), Myanmar and Bangladesh. The region with a cumulative population of nearly 50 million inhabitants of the seven landlocked Indian states is connected to the mainland through a narrow corridor, less than 15 miles wide between Nepal and the top of Bangladesh — known as the Chicken’s Neck. More precisely, only 2% of the region’s territory is attached with the country. In this region, Assam is the only state with some degree of economic development. The entire north-east region was absorbed into British Imperial India in the early 19th century as the British began to confront Burmese empire builders who were encroaching westwards. But, aside from Assam teas, there has been little economic development since that time. It seems that wrong judgment is being made by the partition-era politicians who agreed to give away even non-Muslim majority areas like Chittagong Port and the surrounding areas to Pakistan, — with Lahore in the west, leaving India’s own north-east region landlocked, resulting in its isolation, the disruption of its traditional trade routes and subsequent plunge into insurgency. Moreover, Bangladesh — which owes its very existence and survival to India rather chooses to play by allowing its soil to be used as a sanctuary for anti-India terrorists and refusing to give India permission to use its territory to transit to the north-east. Bangladesh has turned down several requests by India to allow river transport transit from the north-east to the sea, compelling India to explore Sittwe in Myanmar, and focus is on developing Kolodyne. By the time the Sittwe Port is ready, Kolodyne will become fully navigable and the connectivity of the rest of India with the north-east and north-east Asia would improve significantly. This project, once completed, will address the much needed access to the seas for the landlocked northeast India, provide access to international market for the exportable products from the region, and thus, help fulfill India’s Look East Policy. Myanmar also will benefit from additional revenue collected through goods going to India. It will also have a 225-km long navigable waterway in the bargain. The Kolodyne Project will provide goods from the NE States denied transit facilities through Bangladesh, now take a long and circuitous road to ports in West Bengal through the narrow Siliguri corridor, — a shorter and cheaper link to the seas. The Sittwe Port is not too far off Kolkata across the Bay of Bengal. Given the 1600-km land border with Myanmar, and the shared maritime space in the Bay of Bengal, India believes it does not have the luxury of elevating its commitment to democratic values above the immediate economic and strategic interests there. ‘Union Minister for Development of North-eastern Region (DoNER)

Mani Shankar Aiyar says, “Bangladesh refusal to permit transit facilities to India and its turning down repeated requests to use the Chittagong Port for north-east will be history” ‘External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee also says, ”Geography is opportunity and the very geographical location of the northeast makes it the doorway to Southeast and East Asia and vice versa, — a doorway for these economies into India,” The Indian determination to quicken the pace of implementation of the Kaladan project comes amidst the recent decision in Beijing to build a pipeline from the South Western province of Yunnan to the Sittwe Port. INDIA AND MYANMAR RELATIONSHIP ‘According to C. S. Kuppuswamy (of the South Asia Analysis Group), “The IndoMyanmar relations since 1948 (when Myanmar became independent) can be considered as cordial and friendly (1948-1962), frozen or strained (1962-1988) and flourishing from 1988 till date” The reasons for these radical changes in the ties between two countries can be attributed to both Myanmar — for its isolationist policy adopted by the military regime and, to India — for its shift from an idealist or moralistic to realistic or pragmatic policy adopted. For India, Myanmar’s ‘geo-strategic location’ at the tri-junction of East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia is of critical significance. A boundary agreement between India and Myanmar was signed in March 10, 1967. Maritime boundary between the two countries was defined by a Maritime Delimitation Agreement in 1986. Four Indian States border Myanmar — Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur. Similarly three Myanmarese States border India — Kachin, Sagaing and Chin. Myanmar shares land border with the other major Asian power, — China, and also shares borders with two Southeast Asian States — Thailand and Laos to its east. Besides this, Myanmar’s border with Bangladesh to its north-west is also crucial from India’s perspective because it provides an alternative and a crucial route to Myanmar and Southeast Asia. Major factor that draws India’s attention to Myanmar is the problem of growing Chinese influence in Myanmar and influence in the Indian Ocean. Chinese thinktanks and policy makers are much afraid of Indian Ocean becoming India’s Ocean and as such, Chinese Navy extended its naval operations into the Indian Ocean and sought strategic outposts on Myanmarese Islands. ‘Factors such as these could have led India to station a tri-service Far Eastern Command in the Andamans and Nicobar Island. Both India and China understand Myanmar’s maritime significance. For India, in the south is link by the Bay of Bengal and in the south-west by the Andaman Sea. Myanmar’s Coco Islands and India’s Andaman and Nicobar islands are attached to each others through Indian Ocean. And as for China, which otherwise has no opening into the Indian Ocean can easily gain access through Myanmar. ‘Moreover, India is continued concerned with China’s increasing engagement with Myanmar’s Military Junta, especially in improving the naval facilities including the setting up of four Electronic Listening Posts along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. India wants Myanmar to ensure that the area west of Chindwin River remains free of Chinese or Pakistani influence. It is important to seek stability on the north-eastern border by ensuring economic prosperity of the region especially in view of the fact that it is a land bridge to the south-east Asian region. Indo-Myanmar bilateral relationship is much important to India since India’s Look East Policy is destined to shape our attitude towards the Asia Pacific for the foreseeable future. External Affairs Minister of India Pranab Mukherjee recently says that India’s Look-East Policy has been the main driving force for improvement in the bilateral relations. ‘India seems to be formulating a three-pronged approach to its Look East ambitions: 1) Continue seeking rapprochement with Burma 2) Redouble efforts to develop the northeast 3) Engage with its other regional neighbor — China.

While India’s concerns are understandable, Myanmar’s Military Junta also appears to be at a crucial point in its existence. They have becoming realised that they are being stifled by China and, must look for an alternative in India — particularly in view of India’s rising economic potential and mutual strategic and security interests. ‘The South Asia Analysis Group, however, points out six reasons for the strategic importance of Myanmar to India: 1) Myanmar is located at the tri-junction of East Asia, South Asia and South East Asia. 2) Myanmar is the second largest of India’s neighbours and the largest on the eastern flank. 3) Myanmar provides the Eastern littoral of the Bay of Bengal. An unfriendly Myanmar hosting foreign naval presence would pose a threat to Indian security. 4) Myanmar has a big border with China in the north contiguous with the SinoIndian disputed border which has many implications. 5) India has both a land border (1640 km) and a maritime boundary with Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal. Four Indian states (Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram) border Myanmar (Kachin & Chin States and Sagaing Division) 6) China can gain access to Indian Ocean through Myanmar. Myanmar also plays an important role in the economic reinforcement of India and North East India as a particular. Myanmar is an India’s gateway to ASEAN as it is the only country of this grouping which has a land and maritime boundary with India. With India becoming a summit level partner of ASEAN and a member of the East Asia Summit, improved relations with Myanmar will be beneficial in many respects. ‘Besides, Myanmar and India are members of some sub-regional groupings such as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMST-EC), Forum on Regional Economic Cooperation among BangladeshChina-India-Myanmar (BCIM) and the Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC). China has raised its economic profile in South East Asia, particularly in Myanmar despite the sanctions imposed by the west. India should not be left behind especially in view of the large oil and gas resources available in Myanmar and much needed by India. Moreover, there is also need for major security considerations between India and Myanmar. In connection with insurgency in the north-eastern States of India, some of the insurgent groups have established camps in Myanmar and operating from Myanmarese territory. Smuggling of arms, drug trafficking and narco-terrorism is also a major security concerns between two countries. Illegal immigration from Yunnan into Northern Myanmar and association of Chinese workers in road construction activities also evokes bilateral deliberation. There is a need to regulate border trade in order to curb drug trafficking and smuggling. KOLODYNE MULTI-MODAL TRANSPORT PROJECT Conceived and proposed by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in 2003, the project has already received approval from the Myanmarese government. Meanwhile, it obtains in-principle approval from the Planning Commission too. MEA has entrusted RITES for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) for this project. RITES submitted its report to the MEA in October, 2003. The initial total estimated cost of the project was reported to be US$ 103 million. At the initial stage, the agreement between Government of India and Government of Myanmar is that, Government of Myanmar was to provide US$ 10 million, and the rest by the Government of India. But, the Myanmar Government, known as State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) — run by a group of Generals, later conveyed its inability to fulfill its commitment of US$ 10

million. SPDC has though consented on the proposal, but showed reluctance to invest in the project, and only assured to provide free land for the project. So, the Government of India has agreed to provide the amount in the form of a Line of Credit to the Myanmar Government. Barely days after US President George W. Bush was in India during March 2006, criticising the military regime in Yangon, President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam travelled to Myanmar to strengthen bilateral cooperation. Kalam, in a small gesture to the international and domestic concerns, did mention India’s hopes for the restoration of democracy in Myanmar at the end of his visit. During this visit, President Abdul Kalam announced the decision of India agreeing to provide the amount in the form of Line of Credit. Then, a meeting, attended by the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary of Government of India, along with a delegation of Mizoram government officials was held in the Prime Minister’s office on January 19, 2007 to study the Detailed Project Report prepared by the RITES. Superceding the previous decision, the meeting decided that India will extended to Burma a soft loan of US$ 10 million at an annual interest of 2.5 percent to cover the expenses of its share of the Kolodyne Multi-Modal Transport Project. The Prime Minister Office (PMO) says, “The total estimated amount for the Kaladan project is pegged at Rs 860.95 crore. Myanmar had to provide 10 million US dollars as its share. Since Myanmar was unwilling to invest the money, India agreed to provide a soft loan at about 2.5 per cent annual interest. The Ministry of Finance has confirmed the amount being sanctioned. The Centre is keen to have an alternative route to the sea from the Northeast.” In March/April 2006, an inter-ministerial meeting convened by the MEA decided to designate Hmawngbu in Lawngtlai District as the Trade Point on the Indian side of the border. A meeting between the high ranking officials from Light Infantry Battalion (Myanmar) and the engineers from Mizoram was also organized in Lawngtlai, a border town where many issues related to the development of the project were discussed. During the visit of India’s foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee to Myanmar on January 19-21, 2007 where he met the Prime Minister Gen Soe Win and Planning and Economic Development Minister U Soe Tha with his counterpart U Nyan, elaborate discussions were held on the Kolodyne project in respect of investments. India and Myanmar have been giving final touches to the Joint Project. While the world’s attention remained fixed on the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar, India determine to go ahead and not hesitate on signing the agreement with the Militant Junta, paving the way for development of the Sittwe Port, an important component for implementing Look East Policy. India and Myanmar are likely to seal the deal soon. The papers were lying with the Myanmar Government and indication was that the other side was ready to shortly sign the deal. ‘While the two countries are giving final touches, out of the three components of the project (Road, Water and Port), road and water are easy while the port is difficult. The source of continuing disagreement was the control of the port. Since India is investing heavily in this project, it wants to retain control of the port. This is not being accepted by Myanmar. They expressed reservations over India’s earlier proposal where India wanted to develop the port and operate it for some time before transferring its use. So, India softened its stand and offered Myanmar immediate use of the Sittwe Port once it is ready for navigational purposes and agreed to hand over the Port soon after its completion. The new offer made by India to Myanmar is a major shift in India’s strategic thinking. It also gives an idea of the level it can go to in accommodating Myanmar ‘s sensitivities. It is confirmed that the revised offer has been approved by the MEA. India’s new offer to Myanmar on the development of the

Sittwe port has been approved by himself.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee

TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF TRADE ROUTE RITES (Rail India Technical Economic Services) prepared the Technical Feasibility Study Paper (DPR) for this Trade Route between India and Myanmar through the Sittwe Port to India-Myanmar Border via. River Kolodyne. In this paper, there is a Specialist Input from reputed institution, such as — Central Mining Research Institute (CMRI), Nagpur, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi and National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), GOA. The Feasibility Study recommended Sittwe to Kaletwa to be Waterway and Kaletwa to India-Myanmar Border as Highway by NH-54. So, the project components are mainly three parts: 1) Development of Terminal at Sittwe Port 2) Development of Inland Waterway System 3) Development of Highway Development of Terminal at Sittwe Port basically means development of Port and Inland Water Transport (IWT) facilities at Sittwe including berths for ships and IWT vessels, cargo handling system, covered and open storages and other infrastructure facilities. Planning of the facilities proposed at Sittwe Port have been carried out considering the following: 1) Annual Volume of Cargo : 1,00,000 tons. 2) Type of Cargo : Break-Bulk (General Cargo) 3) Average Ship Size : 6,000 DWT (Initial) 20,000 DWT (Ultimate) 4) Berth Occupancy : 50% 5) Draft Along Side Jetty : 7.2m (Initial) 9.5m (Ultimate) 6) Physical Dimensions of Port Jetty : 219mx15.2m 7) Transportation Equipment : 4 Tractors, 16 Trailers & 4 Fork Lift Trucks 8) Total Backup Area Requirement : 240m x 120m Besides these, handling equipment at port jetty (landing stage or small pier) is proposed to be 1 General Cargo Crane of 10 ton capacity with a maximum outreach of 25.5 m with hook attachment suitable for general cargo operations. Two types of vessel — Sea Vessel and IWT Vessel are proposed for this port. Proposal for Development of Inland Waterway System includes: 1) A minimum depth of 2m is available from Sittwe to Paletwa. 2) Deepening, widening and other river training works are required further upstream upto Kaletwa. 3) Blasting of rocks outcrops and removal of landslides and sand shoals at specific locations. 4) Selection of vessel suitable to Waterway system. 5) Transhipment IWT terminal at Kaletwa. Detail proposal for Development of Highway includes the following: 1) Project Road Length : 62 km (Kaletwa to India-Myanmar Border) 117 km (India-Myanmar Border to NH-54) 2) Carriageway Width : 3.75 m (Kaletwa to India-Myanmar Border) 3.75 m (India-Myanmar Border to NH-54) 3) Roadway Width : 8.8 m (Kaletwa to India-Myanmar Border) 8.8 m (India-Myanmar Border to NH-54) 4) Culverts : 387nos (Kaletwa to India-Myanmar Border) 461nos (India-Myanmar Border to NH-54) 5) Bridges : 11 nos (Kaletwa to India-Myanmar Border) 2 nos (India-Myanmar Border to NH-54) Major activities to be taken on Kolodyne Multi-Modal Transport Project includes

upgradation of Port of Sittwe and River Kolodyne from Sittwe to Kaletwa in Myanmar, construction of road from Kaletwa to Myanmar-India border in Myanmar and construction of road from NH-54 to India-Myanmar border in India. Moreover, Detailed Project Report (DPR) recommended scopes of work are: 1) Hydrographic surveys for Sittwe Port approach channel, harbour and river. 2) Topographic surveys and Geo-Technical investigations for Waterway and Highway 3) Surveys at Navigational Hazards (rapids and shoals) and rock blasting requirement by CMRI 4) Numerical midel studies and river by Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), Delhi and National Institute of Oceanography, GOA CONCLUSION We cannot avoid or escape from the inexplicable process of Globalisation. It may not appropriate to try and resist or oppose the massive international game of Globalisation. India has decided to be an active player in this process, in which Mizoram as well as north-east is an important part and parcel. Hence, all we need to do is to prepare for the challenge we must face. ‘Completion of the Kolodyne Multi-Modal Transport Project assumes great urgency as it will provide a vital component to the economic growth of the whole northeast India, offering a trade route, — an outlet to tap the economic potential of India’s immediate eastern neighbours. THE AUTHOR — ROCHAMLIANA IS THE GENERAL SECRETARY OF ZORAM RESEARCH FOUNDATION, AIZAWL, MIZORAM