Kaladan Multi-Modal Project to be completed by 2027: Mizoram CM

Aizawl: Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma said on Wednesday that the authorities will complete the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP), a cross-border road connecting Mizoram's southern region to the Bay of Bengal via Myanmar, by 2027. While addressing Tlanglut Kut, an important festival of the ethnic Bawm tribe, and the International Bawm Cultural Meet at Khawmawi village in south Mizoram's Lunglei district, Lalduhoma said he recently met with officials from the company executing the Kaladan project. During the meeting, they informed him that they would complete the bilateral project by 2027. He also stated that the central government is taking steps to extend the railway line up to Hmawngbuchhuah, the southernmost tip of the state, in Lawngtlai district along the Mizoram-Myanmar border. "Once they complete these projects, southern Mizoram will witness rapid development," Lalduhoma said. The authorities have already extended the railway line up to Sairang near Aizawl, linking the state capital with the rest of the country via Silchar town in Assam. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Bairabi-Sairang railway line on September 13. The KMMTTP is a bilateral initiative between the governments of India and Myanmar to connect the two countries via sea and road routes. Launched by the erstwhile UPA government in 2008, the project will initially connect the eastern Indian seaport of Kolkata to Myanmar's Sittwe seaport across the Bay of Bengal, a distance of 539 km. From Sittwe, the route will continue along the Kaladan River to Paletwa in western Myanmar. A 110-km-long road will then link Paletwa to the India-Myanmar border. From there, the road will connect to Lawngtlai town in southernmost Mizoram, located 87.18 km away, where National Highway 306 (formerly NH-54) passes by. Public Works Department (PWD) officials said that construction of the road segment on the Mizoram side has been completed, but its commissioning is pending due to several issues, including compensation. Lalduhoma also called for unity among various Mizo tribes. He said the Mizo identity consists of different Zo ethnic tribes, each with its own traditions and dialects. He urged these communities to respect one another and to strengthen the collective Mizo identity. The Chief Minister also stated that the people of Mizoram strongly oppose any form of separatism or alienation by any Zo ethnic tribe from the Mizo mainstream.