India is developing infrastructure projects worth $5 billion in the South Asian region to improve connectivity with neighbours, economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das said on Tuesday.
“With Asian Development Bank (ADB) support, India is currently developing two priority road corridors. The first will connect India with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan through the ‘chicken’s neck’ area of North Bengal,” Das said, addressing a South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) 2025 workshop here.
The second road corridor, he said, would establish India-Myanmar connectivity in Manipur after the operationalisation of Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) at Agartala and Petrapole on the India-Bangladesh border.
“Another ICP at Moreh on the India-Myanmar border will be developed. We are also planning to establish ICPs and improved Land Customs Stations (LCS) at key border points with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan to ease the movement of goods and people within the sub-region,” Das added.
India has also been assisting countries in the subcontinent to improve their power situation. The India-Bangladesh transmission line is providing safe and reliable interconnection of the power grids to supply 500 MW of power to Bangladesh. The 1,320 MW Maitree Thermal Power Project, a joint venture of NTPC and Bangladesh Power Development Board, will be developed, Das said.
The Power Grid Corporation of India is also engaged in developing three 230 kv transmission lines in Myanmar with the support of a credit line of $64 million between the Exim Bank of India and the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank, he said.
India is currently engaged in discussions for a mega gas pipeline project linking Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan with India, involving construction of a 1,680-km-long pipeline.
At the request of the four participating countries, ADB has agreed to house the secretariat of this project, he said.
Over the last two decades, SASEC has helped craft solutions to cross-border issues.
Recently, India has launched a major port-led development initiative called ‘Sagarmala’, which would help modernise ports and coastlines to contribute more to growth.
“Apart from the modernisation of the existing ports in the east coast, India is developing two new ports on the same coast line at Dugarajapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Sagar Island in West Bengal.
These ports will further enhance our trade with the neighbours and ASEAN countries,” Das said.
India is also developing the East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC), with ADB as lead partner, and Vizag Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) project is part of the first phase, to facilitate the movement of the bulk of India’s major natural resources like coal and iron ore.