'Construct India-Myanmar-Thailand highway through SPV'

Kolkata, May 30 :  Terming the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway as one of the most integral part of connectivity between India and the ASEAN countries, a NITI Aayog official on Tuesday proposed it be constructed though Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of the three countries.

"Better monitoring policy and innovative projects like an SPV of these three countries would be a much easier and faster way to complete the Trilaterlal Highway project," Manoj Singh, an advisor with NITI Aayog, said here.

He also said that the Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport project, that would connect India to the Southeast Asian countries through Myanmar, would be almost ready by October, Aexcept for the road component between Myanmar border and Mizoram in India.

"By 2020, all the components of the project involving, river, sea and road would be complete and can serve as an alternative route for bilateral trade between India and Myanmar as well as internal connectivity between the North-East and the rest of the country," he said.

Singh said that in order to develop the internal connectivity, a total of Rs 40,000 crore would be invested in road construction in the northeastern states, with a major chunk in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

"On the other hand, the railways in all the North-Eastern states would be brought under the broad gauge network by 2020," he added.