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Arunachal Frontier Highway

Arunachal Frontier Highway (AFH), officially notified as the National Highway NH-913 and also called Bomdila-Vijaynagar Highway (BVH), connecting Bomdila Airstrip ALG & HQ in northwest to Vijaynagar Airstrip ALG & HQ in southeast via Nafra HQ-Sarli HQ-Huri Helipad ALG & HQ-Nacho HQ-Mechuka Airstrip ALG & HQ-Monigong HQ-Jido (Tuting Airstrip ALG & HQ)-Hunli HQ-Hayuliang Airstrip ALG HQ-Chenquenty-Hawai HQ-Miao HQ (with Miao-Kharsang HQ spur) including 800 km greenfield section and network of new tunnels & bridges, is a 2-lane paved-shoulder under-construction national highway along the India-China LAC-McMahon Line border in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The 1,748 km-long (1,086 mi) highway itself will cost ₹27,000 crore (equivalent to ₹290 billion or US$3.4 billion in 2023) and total cost including 6 additional inter-corridors is ₹40,000 crore (equivalent to ₹420 billion or US$5.1 billion in 2023). In some places, this highway will run as close as 20 km from the LAC. To be constructed by MoRTH in 9 packages, all packages will be approved by the end of fy 2024-25 (March 2025) and construction will be completed in 2 years by 31 March 2027.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Of the total route, 800km is greenfield, rest brownfield will be upgraded and tunnels will be built.[7] This highway in the north & east Arunachal along the China border, would complement the Trans-Arunachal Highway (through the middle of Arunachal) and the Arunachal East-West Corridor (in south Arunachal in foothills along the Assam border) as major highways spanning the whole state, pursuing the Look East connectivity policy.[8][9]

History

In 2016, empowered committee on border infrastructure asked the MoRTH to prepare the detailed project reports (DPR) as per the alignment agreed by the home ministry, defence ministry & Arunachal state government. In 2018, Home ministry enhanced the alignment for the additional connectivity.[1][2] MoRTH identifies the highway as one of the 29 corridors close to the 3,600 km international border, to be undertaken as a NHDP (which has been subsumed by the Bharatmala project), though there is "little habitation" along the proposed route and only "small stretches of minor roads".[4]

Benefits

Various sources in the Government of India and media have mentioned the following reasons to build the highway:[4][5][6][10]

Construction

It will be constructed in the following nine packages,[11] all approvals and land acquisition will be progressively completed by March 2025, and the construction will be progressively completed by March 2027[1][2] in fully government-funded "engineering procure and construct" (EPC) mode.[12]

Route alignment

The high-altitude highway will originate from Mago-Thingbu in Tawang district and meander through the following border areas of Arunachal Pradesh along the McMahon Line: West Kameng district; East Kameng district; Upper Subansiri district; Mechuka in West Siang district; Tuting in Upper Siang district; Dibang Valley district; Desali in Lower Dibang Valley district; Chaglagam, Kibithu, Dong and Hawai all in Anjaw district; and end at Vijaynagar in Changlang district at the junction of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland and Myanmar.[5][14] The map of alignment can be seen here.[14]

Alignment by district, from west to east:[1][2]

Spurs

Also proposed is a 100 km long western spur from Tawang to Yongphulla Airport in Bhutan (upgraded by India and jointly used by the Indian Army and Bhutan Army)[15] in eastern Bhutan via Lumla-Yabab in India and Trashigang in Bhutan.

Six Inter-corridor highways

To providing missing interconnectivity between three horizontal national highways across Arunachal Pradesh - Frontier Highway, Trans-Arunachal Highway and East-West Industrial Corridor Highway - following six vertical and diagonal national highway corridors of total 2178 km length will be built, which will also provide faster access to geostrategically important areas on India-China LAC.[16][17]

Listed west to east.

Other wider connectivity

The highway will intersect with the proposed East-West Industrial Corridor Highway in the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh from Bhairabkunda, the tri-junction of Bhutan, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh to Ruksin in East Siang district.[3] It will also connect to the Trans-Arunachal Highway.

The highway will pass through the BCIM Economic Corridor proposed by the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation (BCIM Forum),[3][4] a multi-mode corridor that includes a highway from Calcutta in India's West Bengal state to Kunming in China's Yunnan province. As well as Arunachal Pradesh, the highway passes through the Indian states of Manipur and Assam.[10]

The highway will cross the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary, which may raise environmental issues.

Tourism

Current status

See also

Arunachal Pradesh connectivity projects
Northeast connectivity projects
National highways

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Eye on China, govt plans a 1,700-km 'frontier highway'". Times of India. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "As LAC skirmishes increase, India to build a 1,700-km highway in Arunachal Pradesh". WION. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d "Narendra Modi government to provide funds for restoration of damaged highways". Diligent Media Corporation Ltd. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d Dash, Dipak Kumar. "Top officials to meet to expedite road building along China border". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  5. ^ a b c "Indian Government Plans Highway Along Disputed China Border". Ankit Panda. thediplomat.com. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "Govt planning road along McMohan line in Arunachal Pradesh: Kiren Rijiju". Live Mint. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  7. ^ नॉर्थ ईस्ट में चीन के साथ लगी सीमा होगी और सुरक्षित, 27000 करोड़ खर्च कर बनेगा 1748 KM लंबा 'फंटियर हाईवे', News18, 19 Dec 2022.
  8. ^ Arunachal Dy CM Lays Foundation Stone of Bridge over Bari River Archived 22 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine, North East Today, 11 Dec 2017.
  9. ^ "Arunachal Frontier Highway - Route Map, Cost, Progress, and More - Infra Info Hub". 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Why India is planning a new road near the China border". BBC News. BBC. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Frontier Highway, MoRTH, accessed 8 Feb 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e Sources said so far the ministry has approved works for around 500 km of the 1,748 km, Times of India, 6 Feb 2024.
  13. ^ NewsDesk, T. N. M. (12 February 2024). "Centre approves another Rs 2378.72 crore for construction of Frontier Highway in Arunachal". thenewsmill.com. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  14. ^ a b "China warns India against paving road in Arunachal". Ajay Banerjee. tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  15. ^ "Dantak". Border Roads Organisation. Government of India. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  16. ^ Arunachal Pradesh: Inter-corridors between two highways proposed, Economic Times, 20 Oct 2022.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g Centre Clears Construction Of 6 Corridors In Arunachal Near China Border, NDTV, 20 Oct 2022.
  18. ^ a b c Two important North East Circuits under Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Central Tourism Ministry inaugurated in Arunachal Pradesh today, PIB India, 15 Nov 2018.
  19. ^ "Top officials to meet to expedite road building along China border". ipanewspack.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.