On Thursday, a cargo ship was flagged off from a Kolkata port on a trial run to a facility at Sittwe in Myanmar, which is funded by India as part of the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project, as per the officials.
Shantanu Thakur, Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, inaugurated the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) port in Sittwe, Myanmar, on Monday.
The KMTTP aims to establish an alternative transportation route connecting Kolkata Port with the Northeast region through the Sittwe Port up to Paletwa in Myanmar by waterway, and from Paletwa to Zorinpui in Mizoram by road.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) served as a project development consultant for the port’s implementation and IWT components, which were built with grant assistance from the Government of India. The MV-ITT LION (V-273) ship, loaded with 20,000 bags of cement weighing 1,000 metric tonnes, will arrive at Sittwe Port on 9 May.
The port will enable new trade and transit opportunities between India and Myanmar, particularly in the Rakhine State, and enhance commerce between the two nations and the wider region.