Building The Global Highway: NHAI Signs Agreement To Start Work On India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway

Work on the 1,000 km-long India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) Trilateral Highway officially started with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) signing an agreement with a joint-venture (JV) between Punj Lloyd and Varaha Infra to upgrade the Yagyi-Kalewa section of the India-Myanmar Friendship Road in Myanmar, reports PTI.

The 120 km section passes through mountainous terrain and will be upgraded to a two-lane road with paved shoulders. The project includes several new major and minor bridges, reconstruction of exiting bridges and culverts, 20 bus bays and one passenger rest area. The project was originally awarded to the JV last September but work orders were issued just this month.

The Rs 1,177 crore project will be implemented on an engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) basis by the NHAI through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari had earlier said that the government was giving high priority to the IMT Trilateral Highway, its second major international road project after the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) road project. He had said that the highway will be operational by December 2019.

The 1,000 km India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway will run from Moreh in Manipur to Mae Sot in Thailand via Myanmar.