Road construction between Mizoram-Rakhine will be completed soon, Myanmar minister said - no effect of Rohingya dispute
Time to Read 3 Min
The Commerce Minister expressed hope that the project would be completed soon.
Myanmar's Commerce Minister U Aung Naing O is on a visit to Mizoram. Here he said that the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) will not be affected due to the Rohingya conflict in Rakhine. Under the project, a road is being constructed between Paletla in Myanmar and Zorinpui in Mizoram. O told that the road is being constructed in the western region of Rakhine. While the Rohingya dispute is on the other side of Rakhine.
construction completion time not specified
The Commerce Minister expressed hope that the project would be completed soon. However, O did not specify the time of completion of the construction. He said that Rakhine's Sittwe port would also start operations soon. This will lead to better connectivity between the two countries, which will make trade easier. This will also reduce the pressure on the Siliguri corridor. In March, Minister of State for External Affairs RK Ranjan Singh had told that the project has been delayed due to instability in the neighboring country, political upheaval and the Rohingya dispute.
98 percent of road work completed
Kolkata Port will be linked with Sittwe Port under the KMTTP project. There is a 110 kilometer long road between Paletwa and Jorinpui. Another road is proposed in the plan, 100 km road will be connected to the National Highway. The infrastructure on the Myanmar side is complete. The road has also been built. However, due to some instability, the project has definitely got delayed. The Mizoram PWD department had informed Governor Haribabu in April that about 98.01 per cent work on the 100-km road has been completed so far. Union Shipping and Ports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Myanmar's Deputy PM Admiral Thein Aung San inaugurated the Sittwe Port on May 9. The first cargo ship arrived at Sittwe Port carrying 20,000 bags of cement weighing one thousand metric tonnes.
Know, what is the Rohingya dispute
The Muslim population who came from Bangladesh settled in Rakhine. This population is called Rohingya. Myanmar became independent in 1948. Since then a dispute broke out between the majority Buddhist and Muslim population. Seeing the increasing number of Rohingya, the government of General Win of Myanmar implemented a new national law in the country in 1982. The citizenship status of Rohingya Muslims was abolished in the law. The Myanmar government continued to force Rohingya Muslims to leave the country. Since then Rohingyas have been coming here by infiltrating into Bangladesh and India. In 2012, communal riots broke out in Rakhine. After this, the exodus of Rohingya Muslims increased from here. Communal violence has continued in Rakhine since 2012. Thousands of people have been killed in this violence and lakhs have also been displaced.
