India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway
| India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) trilateral highway | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length: | 1,360 km (850 mi) |
| Existed: | 2019 – present |
| West end: | Moreh, Manipur, India |
| East end: | Mae Sot, Tak Province, Thailand |
The India–Myanmar–Thailand (IMT) trilateral highway is a highway under construction that will connect Moreh, India with Mae Sot, Thailand via Myanmar.
The road is expected to boost trade and commerce in the ASEAN–India Free Trade Area, as well as with the rest of Southeast Asia. India has also proposed extending the highway to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The proposed approx 3,200 km (2,000 mi) route from India to Vietnam is known as the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC).
A highway connecting Moreh to Mae Sot via Myanmar was first proposed at a trilateral ministerial meeting on transport linkages in Yangon in April 2002. The length of the four-lane highway is approximately 1,360 km (850 mi).
The India–Myanmar Friendship Road, officially inaugurated on 13 February 2001, forms part of the trilateral highway. Per the original agreement between India and Myanmar on the Friendship Road project, the Indian government was tasked with widening and repaving the existing roads in the area, while the Myanmar government would upgrade the decrepit single-lane bridges along the route. However, the Myanmar government failed to carry out the upgradation work. In May 2012, India announced that it would invest US$100 million to repave the existing highway and upgrade all 71 bridges that Myanmar had failed to build. Myanmar stated that it would upgrade the Yargi-Monywa section and open the existing motorway between Mandalay-Naw Pyi Taw and Yangon. Following the 2015 Myanmar elections, the new government withdrew the country's commitment, and India is expected to upgrade the stretch from Moreh to Monywa. An alternate alignment for the stretch between Mandalay-Naw Pyi Taw and Yangon has also been proposed.
During Myanmar President U. Htin Kyaw's state visit to India in August 2016, an MoU was signed with the Government of India under which the latter will fund the construction of 69 bridges, including approach roads in the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa section (149.70 km (93.02 mi)) of the highway, and also upgrade the Kalewa-Yagyi section (120.74 km (75.02 mi)). India provided funding for the renovation of 73 bridges along the route in Myanmar that were originally built during World War II. India and Myanmar signed an agreement to speed up construction of the highway on 29 August 2016. India's Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari stated that construction of the highway would begin in June 2017 and would cost an estimated ₹5,000 crore (US$780 million). However, Chief General Manager (Northeast) of NHAI Raj Chakrabarty stated that while bids had been invited for the Kalewa-Yargi section, construction was expected to begin only after the monsoons in 2017.
...
Wikipedia