DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN BY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
India Myanmar Development Cooperation 
Embassy of India
Yangon
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Brief on Development Cooperation
Development Cooperation has been a prominent feature in India’s overall bilateral engagement with Myanmar. Our involvement and engagement in this area in Myanmar extend from the setting up of major connectivity infrastructure to significant initiatives in establishing long-term, sustainable and relevant institutions for capacity building and human resource development in critical areas such as agricultural research; education; IT; skill development, etc., An important aspect of these initiatives is that they are, for the most part, completely grant-in-aid, though India also extends a considerable amount of assistance by way of concessional finance through Line of Credits (LoC). These projects are in various transport & communications; agriculture; farm mechanization and sectors such as infrastructure development. Today, the total portfolio of projects involving Indian assistance is valued at approximately $ 2 billion, of which projects worth nearly $ 1.25 billion are completely grant-in-aid.
Major Infrastructure Projects
The Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) is perhaps the most significant project undertaken by India in Myanmar. The objective of the project is to create a multi-modal transport corridor for shipment of cargo from the eastern ports of India to Myanmar as well as North-Eastern part of India via Myanmar. The project includes a waterway component of 158 km on Kaladan River from Sittwe to Paletwa and a road component of 109 km from Paletwa to Zorinpui on the India-Myanmar border in Mizoram State. The road works from Zorinpui towards Paletwa on the stretch of 109 Km is under progress.
The India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway is the other major connectivity project that India is involved in. Work is now underway simultaneously on two segments. On the Tamu-Kalewa-Kyigone sector, as many as 69 bridges of World War II vintage are being completely reconstructed, while on the 120-km long Kalewa-Yargi sector, the track is being upgraded to national highway standard. Both these projects, are fully grant-in-aid projects by the Government of India.
In addition to these major infrastructure projects, a large number of small projects are undertaken by India in partnership with the Myanmar Ministry of Border Affairs under the aegis of the Border Areas Development Programme. Under this, India supports local community focused projects in Chin State and Sagaing Region consisting of rural roads, bailey bridges, school buildings, medical clinics, etc. A 5-yr grant of $25 million i.e. 5 million per annum has been provided under this Border Area Development Programme.
Government of India is also providing assistance through a grant-in-aid of US$ 25 Million for 5 year i.e. 5 Million /annum under the MoU for Rakhine State Development Programme. In the 1st cycle a project to build 250 prefabricated houses in the Rakhine State for rehabilitation of displaced persons was undertaken. The construction of 250 pre-fabricated houses in Rakhine was completed and handed over to Rakhine State in July 2019.
Six project agreements (consisting of 13 projects) were signed in the year 2020 as 2nd cycle of RSDP. These project agreements are in the areas of Solar Electricity, road construction, school construction, water supply system and education.
Capacity Building
Under capacity building initiatives, two flagship projects that India has been involved in are the Myanmar Institute of Information Technology (MIIT), Mandalay and the Advanced Centre for Agricultural Research and Education (ACARE) in Nay Pyi Taw. Both these are among the most well-regarded institutes in their respective fields in Myanmar and are contributes towards developing highly skilled and well-qualified cadre of IT professionals and agricultural research scientists respectively for the country.
In addition to these, India has also set up Rice Bio-Park in Nay Pyi Taw that aims to demonstrate the full potential of paddy/rice value chain. This is particularly important in the context of Myanmar, which is a significant producer of rice and its agricultural based communities can benefit enormously by utilizing the commercial opportunities offered by rice husk and rice bran oil. The Rice Bio-Park was handed over to Myanmar during the State visit of Hon’ble President of India in December 2018.
India has also set up Four Indo-Myanmar Industrial Training Centres (IMITCs), at Pakokku (the centre was handed over in 2010), Myingyan (the centre was handed over in October 2013), Monywa & Thaton (both these Centres are to be officially inaugurated). These centres are providing training to local youth who can be employable in the industries being set up in Myanmar, thus contributing to the country’s industrialization.
India also extends its assistance to centres set up earlier, such as the India-Myanmar Centre for Enhancement of IT Skills (IMCEITS), the Myanmar-India Centre for English Language Training (MICELT) and the Myanmar-India Entrepreneurship Development Centre (MIEDC), which are all in Yangon.
Health-care and Culture
In the cultural field, India has contributed to the spectacular restoration of the Ananda Pagoda in Bagan and is currently undertaking an extensive project on the restoration and conservation of as many as 92 structures that had been damaged following the earthquake in Bagan in 2016. In the health-care field, India has undertaken projects to upgrade facilities in the Yangon Children’s Hospital, the Sittwe General Hospital and the Monywa General Hospital.
Concessional Finance Assistance
Government of India’s Lines of Credits (LoCs) have been extended for projects in Myanmar in diverse sectors such as Telecommunication; Railways; Energy; Automobile; Power and Agriculture. Out of 24 projects under these LoCs, 21 projects have already been completed and 3 projects are under different phases of implementation. The total amount committed to Myanmar under LoCs is US$ 745.57 million.
