North East may emerge as a hub of trade, transit and connectivity

There is a growing realisation in India that it's once marginalised North East, which shares 4,500 km long international borders with China, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, has immense potential to develop as a key centre of trade, transit and connectivity.

The Indian ruling elites remained indifferent to North East's needs and aspirations for long despite its abundant resources. The successive governments at the Centre hardly demonstrated political will to properly utilise the region's resources for bringing about economic growth and prosperity in this hinterland.

The geographical proximity of North East to India's South and Southeast Asian neighbours has been duly recognised in the Look East Policy articulated in 1992. Since then, the region is considered as India's gateway to Southeast and East Asia.

The landlocked North Eastern states have to pay higher transportation costs. Besides, factors like poor infrastructural facilities, industrial stagnation, chronic insurgency and recurrent ethnic violence have resulted in economic isolation of the region. In order to address these lingering issues, the UPA government formulated a long-term strategy called “North Eastern Region: Vision 2020” for this sensitive region in 2007.

In addition to efforts at the domestic level, several projects envisaged in sub-regional groupings like BIMSTEC and BCIM-EC, seek to integrate North East with the economic powerhouses of Asia. Access to nearby ports for transportation of goods and improvement of transport infrastructure is urgently required to enhance trade and cooperation between North East and its neighbours. 

Considering the geographical constraints facing the region, several domestic and transnational projects have been proposed and undertaken to boost connectivity between North East and the neighbouring countries. A few major projects are through Myanmar. They include: India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway connecting Moreh in Manipur to Mae Sot in Thailand via Bagan and Mandalay in Myanmar, Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project connecting Mizoram and Indian ports in the eastern coast with Sittwe port in Myanmar and Delhi-Jiribhum-Moreh-Hanoi Railway Link via Mandalay and Yangon in Myanmar. Recently, Meghalaya has been connected with India's main railway network and preparations are on to connect Arunachal Pradesh in 2015.

The proposal for a bus service between Imphal and Mandalay was made in 2006. Meanwhile, as part of bilateral air service agreement between India and Myanmar in 2012, Imphal-Mandalay air route was opened on June 27, 2014.

The revival of 1,736 km long Stilwell Road connecting Ledo in Assam with Kunming in China through Patkai hills and Myanmar could largely benefit Arunachal's  remote Changlang along with Upper Assam districts of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh. Currently, the Centre is studying the economic feasibility of reviving the road. The road could be used for conducting Indo-Asean and Sino-Indian trade. Some analysts say the road can reduce the transportation cost by more than 30%.

In its bid to promote intra-regional trade and local economy, India is setting up a Special Economic Zone and 2,000 acres Border Township at Moreh. An identical project has been planed for Champai in Mizoram.

The BCIM-EC is another key project to facilitate trade and connectivity between the landlocked and underdeveloped southwestern parts of China and North East by building multimodal transport.

The prospects of expanding economic ties and cooperation between North East and its neighbours have generated huge interest among the Indian business and industry groups, including FICCI and ICC. The have organised workshops and conclaves during the last few months focusing on region's connectivity and business potentials. Such summits attended by diplomats, policy makers, experts and business leaders have highlighted the importance of North East as a transit point between India and the countries in Southeast and East Asia.

The engagement of private sector, which has considerable stakes in the enhancement of trade and commerce between India and its neighbours, is indeed a positive development. FICCI, in a recent report titled “Gateway to ASEAN: India's North East Frontier,” has suggested setting up of ten border townships in different parts of this region to boost international trade and also called for building a 4,000 km long “Ring Road” connecting all the North Eastern states.  

A number of international financial institutions and individual donor countries are providing necessary funds for upgradation of the existing roads and construction of new ones to boost regional trade and connectivity.

A key factor behind North East's isolation and marginalisation was the discontinuation of rail, road and waterway links that existed between the region and Bangladesh prior to the partition of the sub-continent. The chief ministers of the region have been pitching for the restoration of these links and opening of new routes to promote trade, tourism and cooperation between the two neighbouring countries. In their efforts to deepen the friendly bilateral relations, the governments of both the countries organised a trial run of bus service between Guwahati and Dhaka via Shillong and Dawki in Meghalaya and Sylhet in Bangladesh on December 10.

Among all the North Eastern states, the condition of Tripura, which is virtually Bangladesh-locked, is particularly precarious. The state government has been seeking transit facilities through Bangladesh for long. In order to facilitate cross-border movement of goods and people, the Centre has undertaken several infrastructural projects, including construction of a bridge over the Feni river to access Chittagong port, building of a railway link between Akhaura and Agartala and a 70 km road from Sabroom to Chittagong port, and upgaradation of Ashuganj port in Bangladesh to boost trade, transit and connectivity between the two countries.  

In addition to these projects, several other schemes are underway to improve the overall infrastructure facilities within the region. Some of the major road and railway projects which are likely to be completed over the next two-three years include: broad gauge conversion of Lumding-Silchar and Badarpur-Agartala sections of NF Railway and Bogibeel bridge over the mighty Brahmaputra near Dibrugarh.

The NDA government has proposed to build a strategic road in Arunachal connecting Tawang with Bijoynagar in Changlang district and also assured the people of North East that the proposed East-West Corridor linking Silchar with Gujarat would be given top priority.

Once all these road and railway networks become fully operational and inter-linkages are established North East is likely to witness an economic resurgence. The region's integration with the fastest growing economies of Asean, Japan and China would increase trade and investment possibilities manifold, accelerate the pace of industrialisation and generate employment opportunities for local youths.   

The writer is a political analyst based in India.