India to build 1,700 km ‘frontier highway’ near the China border by 2027

In the next five years, the Centre will build a 1,748 km long “frontier highway” close to the India-Tibet-China-Myanmar border in Arunachal Pradesh. It will be as close as 20 km from the international border, a report by the Times of India (TOI) said.

The two-lane highway, NH-913, will aim to stop infiltration in the border areas and will be built by the transport ministry.

“Nearly 800 km of the corridor will be greenfield as there is no existing road on these stretches. There will be some bridges and tunnels as well. We have chalked out the plan to complete the sanctioning of all works in 2024-25 and usually, it takes around two years to complete construction. Different packages will get completed as we progress while the entire project is expected for completion by 2026-27,” an official told TOI.

The highway will start from Bomdila and pass through Nafra, Huri and Monigong. It will pass through Jido and Chenquenty, close to the China border and end at Vijaynagar, near the India-Myanmar border.

The report added that it would give a big boost to the easy movement of defence forces as well as equipment to the border areas. China, too has been building infrastructure on its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

In 2016, the government, in its project “empowered committee on border infrastructure,” recommended conducting surveys and preparing reports on the border areas in consultation with the defence ministry, state governments and the Department of Border Management.

In 2018, the Centre notified the corridor in Arunachal Pradesh as a National Highway (NH). Once a road is notified as the NH, it is the responsibility of the transport ministry to build it.