“India Charts New Sea Route for North-East via Myanmar, Skipping Bangladesh”

India is set to redefine connectivity to its North-Eastern states with the development of a high-speed four-lane highway from Shillong to Silchar, bypassing Bangladesh and integrating with the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar. This landmark infrastructure initiative will enhance strategic and economic connectivity between the North-East and Kolkata via sea, forming a critical link in India’s Act East policy.

Why in News?

On April 30, 2025, the Union Cabinet approved a Rs 22,864 crore project for a 166.8-km highway from Mawlyngkhung (Meghalaya) to Panchgram (Assam). This road will become a crucial land segment of a new multi-modal sea route connecting the North-East to Kolkata through Myanmar, thus bypassing the dependence on Bangladesh for maritime access. This project is seen as a strategic response to recent diplomatic tensions and regional assertions made by Bangladeshi leadership.

Key Highlights

• Project Name: Shillong to Silchar High-Speed Corridor (NH-6)
• Length: 166.8 km (144.8 km in Meghalaya, 22 km in Assam)
• Estimated Cost: ₹22,864 crore
• Expected Completion: By 2030
• Mode of Implementation: Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) under Public-Private Partnership (PPP)
• Executing Agency: National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL)

Strategic Importance

• Bypasses Bangladesh for sea access to Kolkata and Vizag.
• Connects to the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project via Zorinpui in Mizoram.
• Reduces dependency on the vulnerable Siliguri Corridor (Chicken’s Neck).
• Serves as an eastern link for the Act East Policy, strengthening trade and defense logistics.

Engineering Features

• First high-speed highway in a hilly terrain in North-East India
• Slope stabilization measures to prevent landslides
• Use of LiDAR for topographic surveys

Key installations

• Geophones: Vibration monitoring
• Inclinometers: Detect ground deformation
• Rain Gauges, Settlement Gauges, Piezometers: Monitor environmental and geotechnical parameters

Structures to be built

• 19 major bridges, 153 minor bridges, 326 culverts
• 22 underpasses, 26 overpasses, 8 limited-height subways
• 34 viaducts

Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (Background)

• Funded by India’s Ministry of External Affairs
• Connects Kolkata port to Sittwe (Myanmar) via sea
• Inland waterway from Sittwe to Paletwa
• Road from Paletwa to Zorinpui (Mizoram)

Diplomatic and Geopolitical Context

• Bangladesh’s interim chief adviser Muhammad Yunus remarked that NE India is “landlocked” and Dhaka is the “only guardian of the ocean”.
• India responded by accelerating non-Bangladesh-dependent connectivity.
• PM Modi warned against “rhetoric that vitiates the environment” during a BIMSTEC Summit meeting in April 2025.