Sittwe Port: First Indian cargo ship reaches Sittwe Port in Myanmar

The first Indian Cargo ship reached the newly inaugurated Sittwe Port in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. This ship was flagged off from Kolkata’s Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port and was received by Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday. Myanmar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Transport and Communications, Tin Aung San was also present at the occasion.

In a tweet, Sonowal said this port is part of the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project. This aims to unlock North East India for South East Asia.

An official statement said the operationalisation of Sittwe Port would enhance bilateral and regional trade as well as contribute to the local economy of Myanmar. “The greater connectivity provided by the Port will lead to employment opportunities and enhanced growth prospects in the region,” the statement said.

This project was conceptualized to provide an alternative connectivity of Mizoram with Haldia or Kolkata or any Indian ports through Kaladan River in Myanmar. It envisages road transport from Mizoram to Paletwa (Myanmar), thereafter from Paletwa to Sittwe (Myanmar) by Inland Water Transport (IWT) and from Sittwe to any port in India by maritime shipping.