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As Myanmar’s civil war halts key India-funded transport project, will China take advantage?
- The US$484 million road-and-waterway project is seen as an important economic lifeline for India’s northeast region, when completed
- China, which has strong ties with Myanmar’s military junta, is developing a rival deep water port near the India-led project
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Battlefield advances made by rebel groups in Myanmar against the military junta have effectively halted a critical US$484 million transport project financed by India, at a time when China is expanding its regional footprint through investments.
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Earlier this year, the Arakan Army, one of the rebel groups from Myanmar’s Rakhine state, captured the strategically important Paletwa town on the Kaladan River, near the Indian border. Consequently, the military junta lost control over the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport (KMMT) project.
The India-led project aims to link Kolkata in India with the Sittwe seaport in Rakhine, primarily via the Bay of Bengal, covering more than 500km.
When the KMMT project was launched in 2008, it was scheduled to be completed in 2014 but was beset by multiple issues even before the military junta deposed the country’s elected government in 2021.
Still, progress continued on the project and many segments of it have been completed. In November, Indian officials claimed it could be wrapped up by the end of 2023.
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However, a crucial 109km road between Paletwa in Myanmar and Zorinpui, at the border of the Indian state of Mizoram, is yet to be completed. Given the ongoing civil war in Myanmar, the chances of work resuming on this stretch are slim.
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