BD-Myanmar road link remains elusive

A planned Bangladesh-Myanmar road link for continental communications remains still a distant dream as there has been no move yet to execute an official decision on rerouting it through Bandarban hill district.
Competent sources said the fresh move, decided in an inter-ministerial meeting, has been shelved after the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) took step to construct Balukhali-Gundhum road recently although the Myanmar government has lost interest in this 153-kilometre (km) road through Cox's Bazar corridor.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the Tk 540-million project on August 25 for constructing 23km road from Balukhali in Cox's Bazar's Ukhia Upazila to Gundhum in Naikkhyanchharhi Upazila of Bandarban.
It is the Bangladesh part of the 'Bangladesh-Myanmar friendship road' that would ultimately connect a number of countries in the region and beyond.
 The friendship road has been planned under an agreement signed between the two neighbouring countries in 2007.
But there has been no headway as yet to make the dream come true, as the Myanmar government showed reluctance to establish the corridor afterwards for its link with their troubled state of Arakan, the sources said.
 To build this trans-border friendship road, the Bangladesh side has agreed to construct around a 20-km stretch inside Myanmar but that country since then remained silent.
 An RHD official said they had taken the decision to construct the Bangladesh part of the road despite Myanmar's reluctance to keep the Bangladesh-side road ready for the connectivity.
He, however, could not confirm any move to establish the new road link through Bandarban.
 The fresh move to build the long-dreamt Bangladesh-Myanmar road through Bandarban was made early this year after the neighbouring country agreed in principle to explore the possibility of routing the continental highway this way instead of Cox's Bazar direction.
 The Bangladesh mission in Myanmar took the initiative after visiting the Myanmar side of the new passage after finding connectivity through Thanchi or Alikadam of Bandarban to Deletme of Chin state of Myanmar more feasible than the previously planned route.
 Also, the mission held a meeting with Myanmar's transport minister. After his positive indication in this regard, the RHD was informed through an inter-ministerial meeting about the decision to start the process of building the new friendship road.
 The trans-border communications route will help establish wider connectivity with the Southeast Asian countries, including the Chinese spring city of Kunming, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, without touching Myanmar's trouble-spot Arakan.
It is also conceived as part of the long-cherished Asian Highway and BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) corridor.
Foreign ministry sources said the new link will also connect the India-Myanmar joint project styled Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project through almost 150km road. It will in future also facilitate linking the country with the Indian state of Mizoram to help boost trade and business.
     They said the Myanmar government had already started widening and upgrading the highways linked with Kaladan project area which is under the country's worst poverty-stricken state.
 However, RHD officials said they had now taken a move to construct two roads in Bandarban district which may establish link with Myanmar border in future.
 "Bangladesh Army, which is engaged in constructing roads in all hill districts, has proposed the routes," said one official.
 The RHD has already sent the development project proposals on the two projects on Thanchi-Remakri-Madak-Licri and Ali Kadam-Jalanipara-Kurukpata-Poya Muhuri routes to the Planning Commission for approval.
Road Transport and Highways Division secretary MAN Siddique said RHD's two new border-road projects have been taken to have link with Mizoram as part of BBIN road.
He, however, said the division is now considering three routes to establish regional connectivity with Myanmar but couldn't confirm whether the routes are the same as proposed by the MOFA.
"We are now constructing the roads that go inside of our country to ensure BBIN connectivity.  If the Myanmar government wants connectivity through an understanding, we can then go for it," he told the FE over phone
 Bangladesh and Myanmar have an over 200km common border but the frontier area is fraught with challenges in constructing road for its being hilly terrains and some trouble-spots.
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