A fresh move made to build Bangladesh-Myanmar road

Munima Sultana | Published: April 11, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

A fresh move has been made to build the long- dreamt Bangladesh-Myanmar friendship road after the neighbouring country agreed in principle to explore the possibility of routing the continental highway through Bandarban area, official sources said.
The trans-border communications route is broadly planned to establish wider connectivity with the Southeast Asian countries, including the Chinese spring city of Kunming, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore crossing over Myanmar.
It is also conceived as part of the long-cherished Asian Highway and BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) corridor.
Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an agreement in July 2007 to build the cross-border friendship road.
The 153-kilometre road was proposed to be set up from Balukhali-Gundum in Cox's Bazar district to Chin state through Bawli Bazar in Myanmar.
However, the initiative remained shelved afterwards despite Bangladesh efforts several times, for not getting any response from the Myanmar government which was supposed to construct 110km portion of the road inside its hilly terrains.
Foreign Ministry sources said the fresh initiative has been taken after Myanmar's transport minister was convinced with the Bangladesh proposal to have the connectivity through Thanchi or Alikadam of Bandarban hill district to Deletme of Chin state of Myanmar instead of Balukhali-Gundum route.
They said the Bangladesh ambassador to Myanmar in a meeting proposed to the Myanmar Transport Minister the potential of the new route.
The envoy stated that this link would connect the India-Myanmar joint project -- Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project.
It is planned that the Kaladan project will link the Indian state of Mizoram to facilitate trade and commerce but will "facilitate establishing regional connectivity in the long run".
Sources said the Myanmar government had already started the widening and upgrading of highways in the area which is that country's worst poverty- stricken state. Meanwhile, the foreign ministry held an inter-ministerial meeting in February to work on the agreed proposal to conduct fresh feasibility study on the Bangladesh side in both Thanchi and Alikadam areas to find "best possible route".
An official of Road Transport and Bridges Ministry said Roads and Highways Department has already taken a project to conduct the study and visited the roads both in Thanchi and Alikadam areas.
"In both cases, there is missing link on the Bangladesh side. But the study will show which would be more comfortable and straight to establish the friendship road," said the official, preferring not to be named as he is not the authority to talk to the media.
Earlier, the Bangladesh government with support of security forces conducted a feasibility study to explore the opportunity to establish the border road with Myanmar through Balukhali-Gundum to Bawali of Myanmar.
RHD officials said this Balukhali-Gundhum border road was, however, found less suitable from the context of land acquisition and route length and the study recommended Ukhiya-Naikhyongchhari route as the best option.
The Balukhali-Gundhum road was also known as a 'missing link' as there was no road up to 25 kms to establish the Bangladesh-Myanmar road.
As per the 2007 contract, Bangladesh had to construct 23km road inside its territory and 20 kms on Myanmar side as the missing link. The rest 110 kms were supposed to be constructed by the Myanmar government as per international standards for establishing regional connectivity, including linking with the Asian Highway and the BCIM corridor.
Bangladesh and Myanmar have an over 200km common border but the frontier area has challenges in constructing road for its being hilly terrains.
Meanwhile, in early February, the Bangladesh government proposed to import gas from the gas field in Myanmar state of Rakhine and export electricity to that country's Chin state to meet its high demand for electricity. This proposal has yet to proceed far.
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