Japan to help build industrial value chain linking B’desh Port & India’s NorthEast

NEW DELHI: Japan wants to achieve more synergy between its development cooperation in India’s northeastern states and neighbouring Bangladesh, including using the Matarbari Sea Port to create a new industrial value chain, Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Suzuki saidrecently.

Japan is the largest foreign development partner for both the northeastern states and Bangladesh, and it is playing a key role in the construction of the Matarbari deep seaport in Cox’s Bazar district. In March, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) extended three infrastructure construction loans worth $1.2 billion for the port project.

“What Prime Minister [Fumio] Kishida wants to achieve is to have more synergy between what Japan is doing in terms of development cooperation in northeast India and whatJapanisdoinginBangladeshand harnesstheMatarbarideepseaportto create a new industrial value chain,” Suzukisaidinaninterview.

Japan’s efforts in this region will replicate its achievements with the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC), which links Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam,thoughtheworkisexpected to be completed in a much shorter time than the nearly three decades it took to create the Southeast Asian corridor. The SEC led to not just connectivity but a new industrial value chain emanating from Bangkok and going through Phnom Phen and HoChiMinhCity,Suzukisaid.

“We want to achieve a similar story by harnessing the Matarbari deep seaport. JICA is now working very hard in Bangladesh to develop this deep seaport [which] can be a game changer. Big container ships can come here and from Matarbari, you can export anywhereintheworld,”headded.

JICA’s work to build roads and bridges in India’s northeast and in Bangladesh has proceeded so far on separate tracks. “What Prime Minister Kishida wants to do is to connect these two so that India’s northeast can become a natural destination for prospective future investment,”hesaid.

The Matabari seaport is expected to become commercially operational in 2027, and this will also drive investments in the region. Kishida wantstocreateanewindustrialvalue chain to use “these connectivities to the fullest extent possible”. Suzuki recently travelled to Tripura to convene a Track 1.5 conference that was attended by Union Minister for development of northeastern region G Kishan Reddy, Bangladesh’s Maritime Transport Minister, Deputy Foreign Ministers of both countries andtopbusinesspersons.