Sitwe Port [UPSC Notes]

Sittwe port in Myanmar which is a strategically important port for India began operation in May 2023. In this article, you can read about the Sittwe Port, its location and its advantages for India. This topic is related to the IAS exam international relations as well as geography segments.

Sittwe Port

Image source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The Sittwe Port has been inaugurated jointly by India and Myanmar. It is a deep underwater port on the Bay of Bengal, located in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

• Sittwe Port which is a part of the ambitious Kaladan Multimodal Project will improve trade connectivity and people-to-people ties between India and Myanmar and also among the South Asian region.
• The port will also help to boost the economic development of the North Eastern region, giving a fillip to the Act East policy of the government. 
• Sittwe Port can also act as a gateway of India to South East Asia which will bring growth and progress to the overall region.
• The port was built with the aim to create alternative connectivity to North East India. The port was built with grant assistance from India and is part of the $484 million Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP).
• The port connects to Paletwa in Myanmar through an inland waterway and from Paletwa to Zorinpui in Mizoram through a road component. 
• According to the government, the route through Sittwe Port is more feasible for trade and commerce than the existing Siliguri Chicken Neck corridor route.
• To elaborate, the length of the road from Kolkata to Agartala is 1600 km which takes four days while the route through the Sittwe to Chittagong to Sarboom to Agartala takes only two days which will save cost and time.
• The agreement was signed in 2009 and the project has assumed strategic significance over the years with deteriorating ties with China due to its border clashes and expansionist approach.
• Having an infrastructural presence in Myanmar was an important objective for India.

For more details on the Sittwe Port, please watch the video below:

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