Development of strategic infrastructure in Northeast will bolster national security: Part-I

The pace of strategic infrastructure development in Northeast has gained momentum in recent years. The under-construction four-lane bridge over the Brahmaputra between Dhubri (North Bank) and Phulbari (South Bank) on the National Highway (NH) 127 (B) will connect the Northeastern states of Assam and Meghalaya with the rest of the country.

The 19.28 km-long, which is twice the length of India’s current longest river bridge “Bhupen Hazarika Setu” (popularly called Dhola-Sadiya bridge). Once becomes operational, the Dhubri-Phulbari bridge will be India’s longest river bridge near the Bangladesh border boosting sub-regional connectivity, trade and commerce and tourism. It will also generate new income and employment opportunities both in Assam and Meghalaya. Experts say the bridge will enhance access to urban markets and supply chains, increasing the reach and export of perishable farm goods.

The major purpose of building this bridge is to improve regional connectivity. Travelling from Assam to Meghalaya at present requires a 250 km journey via the Nara Narayan Bridge at Jogighopa in Bongaigaon district. The bridge was proposed in 2017 by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone of the bridge in February 2021, and its construction is expected to be completed by the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027-28. The Dhubri-Phulbari bridge is part of the North-East Road Network Connectivity Project: Phase III”, with financial assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The construction of the bridge is taking a long time as it can be worked on for six months of the year when the flow of the Brahmaputra is relatively low. This is a mega transport infrastructure development project undertaken by the union government, and because of the unique features and conditions of the Brahmaputra, the construction of the bridge needs vast resources.

Reports say the cost of the bridge project is estimated to be Rs 4997 crore. India’s construction giant Larsen & Toubro has been awarded the contract to build the bridge for a tender of Rs 3,166 crore. The bridge will reduce the distance between Dhubri and Phulbari from 250 km to just 19.30 km and shorten the ferry time from 2.5 hours to only 15 minutes by vehicle, thereby stimulating local market as well as sub-regional economy.  

Reports suggest that order to facilitate the construction of the Dhubri-Phulbari bridge, the route of the NH-127 (B), which connects Srirampur in Assam to Nongstoin in Meghalaya, has been changed. The newly-declared NH-127 (B) is being expanded and up graded by the NHIDCL with the financial support of the JICA.

Once the bridge becomes functional, it is expected that by 2030, about 30 lakh vehicles will use the bridge carrying goods weighing more than 1 crore 18 lakh tons. The overall development of North East is a focus area of the India’s Act East Policy (AEP)        and the JICA is       playing an instrumental role for the region’s integration with South and South East Asia through the expansion of transport connectivity.

The bridge is equally important and advantageous from geostrategic perspective for mobilising troops along the international borders. The bridge will provide quickest connectivity to Meghalaya and Tripura and the Barak Valley in southern Assam. The ongoing bridge project close to the India-Bangladesh borders has also strategic significance. The JICA’s economic cooperation with India is also designed to contain the influence of China, which has heavily invested in Bangladesh’s infrastructure development sector as part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).    

In addition to funding the Dhubri-Phulbari bridge, the JICA has also extended financial assistance to other road projects in Meghalaya to enhance connectivity with Bangladesh. The road projects include the Tura-Dalu Highway and the up gradation of the Shillong-Dawki Highway  from two-lane to four-lane.

Besides, the JICA is also sponsoring the highway construction from Srirampur to Dhubri in Assam. All these transport infrastructure development projects including the Dhubri-Phulbari bridge have been designed to expand road connectivity between North East and neighbouring Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.

Reports say the prime objective of the JICA’s financing is to develop India-Bangladesh corridor. There is a scope to increase cross-border connectivity by linking Bangladesh’s Chittagong Port with India’s Tripura. The JICA is also funding the Ramgarh-Baraiyahat Bridge Project, while India is constructing a road from Ramgarh to Chittagong to ensure seamless movement of traffic between the two countries.

Leading global money lending agency World Bank (WB) is also playing a crucial role in enhancing India-Bangladesh trade and connectivity. Reports say the WB has extended financial support to a number of initiatives: regional connectivity project boosting cross-border trade by upgrading Bangladesh’s custom clearance system; development of Land Custom Station (LCS) at Ramgarh in Bangladesh, which is situated opposite to India’s border town Sabroom connected to NH-208.    

The JICA is also financing a highway development project from Kailasahar to Khowai in Tripura. After the completion of the up gradation work, it is expected that the movement of passengers through the highway will increase to 47 lakh and the volume of freight to 33 lakh tons from 19 lakh and 9,500 tons, respectively, in 2019. The improvement of this road will also boost connectivity between Tripura and Bangladesh. The JICA is funding the connectivity development projects to expand trade and commercial ties between North East and Bangladesh.

In its bids to promote the AEP, both the union and Assam governments have initiated the process of constructing multi-modal transport system inter-connecting roadways, railways, waterways and airways in the state and linking it with the existing transport networks of the neighbouring countries. It is a major step towards integrating the Northeast especially Assam with the markets of neighbouring countries. Such an initiative has been taken for the first time in the landlocked region. As part of the AEP, some selected areas of Assam will be developed as centres of trade, transit and connectivity.

The Assam government has introduced a logistics policy to make the state a hub of logistics by establishing warehouses and cold storages. While delivering the valedictory speech   on July 12, 2020 in the e-symposium on Logistics Management in the Emergent Northeast India organised by Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Shillong, former  Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal noted that in order to achieve faster industrial growth in Assam, the state government has launched the Exports and Logistics Policy for strengthening logistics infrastructure including container depots, border trade centres, common facility centres, integrated cold chains, logistics parks, river ports and material handling facilities.

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has planned to develop a Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) at Jogighopa to expand international trade with neighbouring countries. Accordingly, the government sought Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) assistance to carry out MMLP pre-feasibility studies at Jogighopa. The ADB in its study report submitted to the MoRTH on June18, 2018, suggested the improvement of transport infrastructure for the proposed Jogighopa MMLP. Reports say the Assam government has already confirmed land availability and the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is in progress.