In a significant development, the proposed highway project linking Meghalaya’s Shillong and Assam’s Silchar will become an extension of a key multi-modal transport project in Myanmar. The proposed road project will also lead to an alternative link via sea between the North-East states and Kolkata, reported The Indian Express while quoting an National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) official.

The project is being described as a response to Bangladesh interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus’s remark in Beijing this March that North-East India is “landlocked” and Dhaka is the “only guardian of the ocean for all this region”. Yunus made the remarks while seeking “extension of the Chinese economy”.

A few days later, on April 4, Yunus met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. The Ministry of External Affairs had said that PM Modi told Yunus that “rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided”.

166.8-km Proposed Highway

The proposed four-lane highway will span across 166.8-km along NH-6 from Mawlyngkhung near Shillong to Panchgram near Silchar. It is being implemented by NHIDCL for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). It will be first high-speed corridor project in the North-East and is expected to be completed by 2030.

Meanwhile, the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar is being funded by the Ministry of External Affairs — and links the Kolkata seaport to the Sittwe port on the Kaladan river in Rakhine state.

Further, the Sittwe port connects to Paletwa in Myanmar through an inland waterway and to Zorinpui in Mizoram through a road section.

Currently, the only link that connects the seven North-East states with the rest of India is the Siliguri Corridor, also known as the ‘Chicken’s Neck’. The other two points of entry are through Bangladesh and Myanmar.

However, Bangladesh has restricted access via Bay of Bengal while maintaining its stronghold on movement through water in the region. Hence, the Kaladan project was jointly identified by India and Myanmar as an alternative — the link is expected to be fully operational by the time the Shillong-Silchar highway is completed.

The construction of the Shillong-Sichar highway will involve major engineering work, including slope stabilisation to predict landslides, as the alignment traverses through difficult hilly terrain.

Further, the Centre approved the project at a cost of Rs 22,864 crore on April 30. Of the total 166.8-km project, 144.8 km lies in Meghalaya while Assam will get 22 km in its share. Once operational, the highway will reduce the travel time from 8.30 hours to just 5 hours.