In a bid to improve connectivity between south and southeast Asian countries, India will soon float a company that will build highways across north-eastern states, linking neighbours such as Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The firm?s aim will be to enhance road connectivity in order to reduce the cost of transportation of goods, and to improve trade relations among these nations.

According to sources, the ministry of road transport and highways has already circulated a draft cabinet note in this regard. “It was in November when the national security council on border infrastructure and border management finalised creating a separate organisation, apart from the existing border roads organisation (BRO) under the ministry of defence, to build strategic roads. This new organisation will be given corresponding powers, going beyond those of the national highways authority of India (NHAI), to let it start construction,? the official said.

The finance ministry, ministry of external affairs and the ministry of commerce have also initiated the constitution of the company to encourage exports under the country?s ?Look East Policy?. After it is formed, the company will take up the languishing projects of BRO and develop almost 10,000 km in the next three years, which has also been listed in the 12th five-year Plan.

According to E Ahamed, MoS for external affairs, ?India, as a prime mover in the transport linkages area, has circulated a concept paper on transport linkages so that we can have seamless connectivity and economic corridors that bring us closer. We can connect with other regional organisations working for better connectivity.”

Ahamed added: “It is important for our experts to meet and develop a common agenda to bring our people and our economies closer together. We want to develop economic corridors across Asia providing hope, opportunity and efficiency for our mutual benefit. We offer to host the next working group meeting on regional connectivity in India in 2014.”

At various international trade relation platforms, Jap-an and Korea have backed this decision, which will connect Myanmar to Pakistan and even the Gulf countries by road, which will substantially reduce the cost of exports.

The firm, to be formed with an initial seed value of R100 crore, is expected to have investments from World Bank, JICA and ADB. “By extending the existing framework of national highways to remote, border areas, India looks at an economically integrated sou-th and southeast Asia, not only for trade and commerce but also for security and strategic reasons,” the source added.

When asked about the reason for floating a separate company, instead of giving the role to NHAI, a road ministry official said, “NHAI is fully engaged in the development of the current national highway development programme, and it would be difficult for the authority to give focused attention to highways in remote and sensitive border areas.”

Once the entity starts making progress, it would not only result in enhanced trade volumes with friendly neighbours, but also help in “efficient defending of the borders with the not-so-friendly neighbours and better crisis management in times of natural calamities,” the official said.

Besides, the local population along the identified highway project corridors in India will also reap economic benefits once the international borders are well-connected.

As of now, the government has approved four-laning of 6,418 km of various category roads in the north-east for an estimated cost of around R33,500 crore, but development has been languishing. Further, more awards and sanctions have been given under the Special accelerated road development programme of the road ministry.