Sonowal to receive first cargo vessel to Sittwe port in Myanmar on Tue

Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will be receiving the first cargo ship to Sittwe Port in Myanmar from Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata on May 9, an official statement said on Friday.

The ceremony is likely to inaugurate regular transit of cargo ships between Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata to SittwePort in Rakhine state of Myanmar, heralding a new age of transportation between two countries, the statement said.

Union Minister Shantanu Thakur on Thursday flagged off the inaugural cargo shipment to operationalise Sittwe Port in Rakhine, Myanmar, from Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port.

According to an official statement, cargo ship MV-ITT LION (V-273) carrying 20,000 bags containing 1,000 metric tonnes of cement will reach Sittwe Port on May 9, 2023.

The port has been built under grant assistance from India as part of the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP), it added.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), as a project development consultant for the implementation of the Port and IWT components of the work, has successfully completed the work.

"After operationalisation of Sittwe port, cost and time of transportation of goods between Kolkata and Agartala and Aizwal will decrease by more than 50 per cent," the statement quoted Sonowal as saying.

Sittwe Port has been developed under a framework agreement between India and Myanmar for the construction and operation of a Multimodal Transit Transport Facility on the Kaladan River, connecting Sittwe Port with Mizoram in India.

The port connects to Paletwa in Myanmar through an inland waterway and from Paletwa to Zorinpui in Mizoram through a road component.

Once fully operationalised, KMTTP will provide alternate connectivity from the eastern coast of India to the north-eastern states through Sittwe Port.

According to the statement, the port will open up new opportunities for trade and transit from and to Myanmar, particularly the Rakhine State and further enhance trade and commerce between the two countries and the wider region.