Frontier Highway: India To Build 1700 km Highway Near China Border By 2027

In Arunachal Pradesh, the Centre will construct a 1,748-kilometer-long "frontier highway" near the India-Tibet-China-Myanmar border over the next five years. It will be as close to the international boundary as 20 kms.

 
Frontier Highway: India To Build 1700 km Highway

The transport ministry will construct the two-lane highway, NH-913, to prevent infiltration in border areas.

Because there are no existing roads along these portions, about 800 kms of the corridor will be greenfield. There will also be bridges and tunnels.

Frontier Highway: Roadmap

The roadway will go from Bomdila to Nafra, Huri, and Monigong. It will run through Jido and Chenquenty, near the China border, and terminate in Vijaynagar, close to the India-Myanmar border.

According to the research, it would greatly facilitate the movement of defence forces and equipment to border areas. China has also started constructing infrastructure alongside the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

In 2016, the government, in its project "empowered committee on border infrastructure," advised conducting surveys and drafting reports on the border areas in conjunction with the military ministry, state governments and the Department of Border Management.

Frontier Highway: Highlights

The proposal, previously opposed by China, is a 2,000-kilometer road that parallels the McMahon Line. The route will begin in Mago, Arunachal Pradesh, near Bhutan. It will continue through Tawang, Upper Subansiri, Tuting, Mechuka, Upper Siang, Debang Valley, Denali, Chaglagam, Kibithu, and Dong before concluding in Vijayanagar, near the Myanmar border.

This project, which will cover the whole Line of Actual Control (LAC) next to Arunachal Pradesh, will cost at least Rs 40,000 crore. According to sources, it is "one of India's largest and most difficult" road construction projects.

Arunachal Pradesh will receive three national highways as part of this project:

  • The Frontier Highway
  • The Trans-Arunachal Highway
  • The East-West Industrial Corridor Highway.

Six vertical and diagonal inter-highway lanes totalling 2,178 kms will be created to connect the three roads and allow speedier access to border areas.
According to sources, the Arunachal Frontier Highway will provide the military with a significant capabilities boost by allowing seamless and speedier movement of troops and equipment to the border as needed for induction and de-induction.

Arunachal Pradesh received the lion's share of the overall highway projects costing Rs 1.6 lakh crore announced by the Centre for the Northeast earlier this month, equal to Rs 44,000 crore.

About Border Roads Organisation

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is an executive road-building unit in India that supports the Indian Armed Forces. BRO builds and maintains road networks along India's borders and in friendly neighbouring countries.

This covers infrastructure projects in 19 states, three union territories (including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands), and adjacent countries, including Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Tajikistan, and Sri Lanka. By 2021, BRO had built about 60,000 kilometres (37,282 miles) of highways, over 450 permanent bridges totalling over 60,000 metres (37 miles), and 19 critical airfields. BRO is also in charge of maintaining this infrastructure, including snow removal operations. BRO has been vital in extensively renovating and creating new India-China border roads.

The BRO works on projects in India and other friendly countries. These projects often involve the construction of roads, bridges, and airfields in sterile environments that private firms avoid, whether owing to security concerns associated with wars or environmental challenges. BRO was present during the 1962 war, the battles with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971, and anti-insurgency operations in the North East.

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