Contractor's bankruptcy Causes delay In India-Myanmar transit project

Contractor's bankruptcy Causes delay In India-Myanmar transit project

An ongoing bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings has caused a delay in a key transit project on the India-Myanmar border, Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport (KMTT).

The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER Ministry) informed a parliamentary committee on home affairs that one of the JV partners of the appointed contractor (M/s C&C constructions) has gone bankrupt.

An insolvency proceeding was initiated with the NCLT in March 2019. Due to the said acute monetary disaster of the contractor the KMTT project got delayed. The project has two components including the Waterways component and the roadways component.

The Ministry responded to the standing committee on dwelling affairs that "The execution of the KMTT project, especially the road component, has faced many challenges due to security problems, ongoing insurgency, and remoteness of the site." On 15 March 2021, the report was tabled in Parliament.

It was further stated by the Ministry that "Construction of a road from Paletwa in Chin State to Zorinpui in Mizoram has been impeded by the precarious security situation in the region. The initial plan of the project was to develop a 225 km long waterway from Sittwe Port till Kaletwa (transshipment point) and a road component of 62 km from Kaletwa up to Zorinpui in Mizoram at the Indo-Myanmar border."

The plan was to be modified because of the precise geographical situations on the positioning to 158 km of waterways and 109 km of the floor route after shifting the transshipment level on the Kaladan River from Kaletwato Paletwa and the specs of the highway part had been additionally modified from intermediate to double lane as nicely, in line with the housing ministry.

The policy aims to provide alternative connectivity to Mizoram with Haldia and Kolkata ports through the Kaladan River in Myanmar.

The waterways part of KMTT is nearly full and a port operator has been appointed collectively by the Centre, and Myanmar. According to reports, "Efforts are being made to operationalize the port and IWT (Inland Waterways Transport) terminals."

It further stated that "A project oversight committee has been constituted with members from the MEA, IWAI and Kolkata Port Trust to oversee the day-to-day activities involved in the early operationalization of Sittwe Port."