NHAI Expedites Trilateral Highway Project with New Contract

2024-11-05 06:48:41 News & Society

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The India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway (IMTTH) project, an intracontinental road-connectivity enterprise initiated by India and ASEAN member-nations, takes a step further towards completion as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on April 10, 2018 inked a new subproject contract to construct highway infrastructure along the proposed route of the main project.

The new subproject, signed between the National Highways Authority of India and the Punj Llyod?Varaha Infra joint venture, is initiated and funded by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India, and costs around INR 1,177 crores or USD 180 million. The trilateral highway is being built to bolster trade and commerce besides business, health, education, and tourism between the three economies.

Under the agreement, India?s NHAI is taking up the construction of three new major bridges, the repair and reinforcement of four major bridges, the building of two new minor bridges, the rebuilding of six minor bridges, the repair and strengthening of nine minor bridges, the reconstruction of 226 existing culverts, and the construction of 20 advanced bus bays, passenger shelters, and a modern amenity centre among others.

Further information for the reader
The 1,360-km-plus India-Myanmar-Thailand highway is being built under India?s Look-East policy and will facilitate trade between India and ASEAN member-countries and the rest of South-East Asia. The intracontinental roadway starts from Moreh in Manipur (India), traverses through Myanmar, and ends at Mae Sot in Thailand.

The project proposes the construction of 69 bridges on the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa road section (nearly 150 km) and Kalewa-Yargi road section (over 120 km) in Myanmar to establish road connectivity between the Indian and South Asian economies.

As part of this initiative, India has already finished the construction of a 130-km road connecting Moreh and Tamu in India to Kalewa in Myanmar. Several stretches on the Thailand-Myanmar side of the project are already completed. The construction or upgrading of the rest of the highway awaits the finalisation of tenders and contracts, for which consultants have been already appointed and several tenders and contracts already won.

The India-ASEAN road connectivity project may extend to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam in the near future, according to authorities of the two regions. The trade route will generate annually an estimated USD 70 billion in incremental GDP rate output and 20 million in incremental aggregate employment by 2025 for the nations involved.

For more details visit :http://www.nhai.gov.in/