Bangkok: A group of NGOs has called for greater transparency on plans for India’s $214m transport project to link Myanmar’s port of Sittwe with the landlocked Indian state of Mizoram.
The development, involving port reconstruction, dredging of the Kaladan River, and a new 130 km long road, is going on without any consultation with affected communities in Arakan and Chin states, the Kaladan Movement alleged in a statement.
The Indian industrial conglomerate Essar is overseeing the project and is currently reconstructing Sittwe port to handle large ships and renovating Paletwa town port facilities.
“The highway component of the Kaladan Project is to be built by an as yet unnamed Burmese construction company, and the exact route of the highway or timeframe for its construction has never been publicly announced,” said the group of NGOs.
The entire project is scheduled to be completed in 2016. [16/06/14]
