India will hand over six cargo vessels worth US$81.29 million (K110.08 billion) to the Myanmar government in Sittwe today under an agreement called the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project.





The vessels will be handed over at a ceremony in the Rakhine State capital by Vikram Misri, the ambassador of India in Myanmar, to U Thant Sin Maung, minister of Transport and Communications, a statement from the Indian embassy said.

The project agreement signed between Myanmar and India consists of setting up port facilities at Sittwe terminal (Inland Water Transport, IWT) at Paletwa, dredging of Sittwe port along the Kaladan River channel, providing night navigation facilities along the river, as well as design, construction and supply of six cargo vessels of 300-tonnes capacity each.

Work on the port in Sittwe and the IWT in Paletwa, Chin State, is in its final stages, and the six cargo vessels are meant to facilitate transportation of goods from Sittwe to Paletwa. The $81.29 million cost of the vessels was met through a grant from India.

The design and drawings of the vessels met the rules and requirements of the RINA Class and the model tests were carried out at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. The plant, requirements and materials used in the construction of the vessels were of RINA Class standard. The construction of the vessels was carried out in Myanmar by IWT as per the rules and regulations of Department of Marine Administration (DMA). The manpower used for construction of the vessels was from Myanmar.

The construction work was assigned to IWT in October 2012, the keels were laid in March 2013 and the vessels were launched between April and December 2016. On completion of the tests and trials at Yangon, the vessels reached Sittwe in March 2017. Acceptance trials were completed in April 2017 in Sittwe.

Sittwe Port and IWT Paletwa are expected to be ready for regular operations shortly, which will aid in the industrialisation of both Rakhine and Chin states. The project is expected to open up employment opportunities in various sectors and promote exports of agricultural commodities, marine products, timber products and other items, thereby raising the level of economic development in the region.





The vessels are powered by two Yanmar engines of 204 KW and equipped with ZF gear boxes.