Guwahati, October 9, 2014: The trans-national highway connecting India, Myanmar and Thailand will soon become a reality as the countries concerned have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard and the reconstruction of the road will start soon.
Highly placed official sources in New Delhi told The Assam Tribune that the existing road connecting Moreh in Manipur, Yangon in Myanmar and Thailand in Bangkok would be reconstructed into a four-lane highway. Sources said that the Government of India is keen on reopening of the road as soon as possible and the process of repairing of the existing road and widening it will take some time. The Centre is keen on reopening of the road within two years, but it will all depend on the pace at which the other two countries can manage to complete the process of reconstruction and widening of the highway.
Sources said that the ultimate aim is to connect the trans-national highway to the National Highway 2, which connects Delhi with Kolkata and when that is done, the new highway would connect the national capitals of three countries.
Official sources pointed out that for years, the Government of India has been harping on the need for expediting the implementation of the much talked about Look East Policy, but very little could be done on the ground. However, once the new road becomes operational, it would open a sea of opportunities for economic development of the North East.
Meanwhile, sources said that the Government has laid stress on infrastructure development in the North East and the departments and agencies concerned have been given targets to complete the ongoing projects. An MoU has already been signed on Imphal-Mandalay bus service, which should be operational by 2016.
The Government has also laid stress on improvement of the condition of the border roads and construction of new ones, which special emphasis on the international border with China to improve connectivity to that area. Moreover, following the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan, a few Japanese companies have already expressed desire to work in infrastructure development projects, particularly in the communication sector, in India and the possibility of involvement of Japanese companies in such projects in the North East is also being examined.
Source: Assam Tribune
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