Beyond the Coastline: India’s Land Connectivity Options around the Bay of Bengal

Abstract

Under the ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East’ policies, India’s regional connectivity strategy has predominantly focused on maritime domains, including new ports and shipping links. While this has helped deepen economic linkages between South Asia and Southeast Asia, inland connectivity initiatives have lagged, with persistent delays and obstacles affecting transportation infrastructure and economic integration beyond coastal areas around the Bay of Bengal. India’s Northeast region, which is yet to be effectively linked to the sub-region formed by Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal, continues to lack any significant economic land bridge or corridor with Southeast Asia. For instance, the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar corridor has failed to materialise, and initiatives such as the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project or the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway remain bogged down by delays. While the rest of Asia’s hinterland economies are now rapidly connecting via rail, there is still no progress on a rail link between South and Southeast Asia.

This paper argues that India must prioritise the development of multimodal transportation infrastructure beyond coastal areas to bridge the current gap between maritime and land-based initiatives around the Bay of Bengal and spur the creation of sub-regional, regional, and inter-regional economic corridors. We assess the challenges and opportunities for policymakers to pursue the hard and soft dimensions of connectivity, which can accelerate the much-delayed regional integration in the Bay of Bengal hinterland. The hard transportation and logistics dimension includes four sectors: road linkages, rail connectivity, and both land and dry ports to facilitate mobility, including trade in goods. Beyond transportation infrastructure, on the softer side, there are five additional domains warranting attention: institutional capacity for coordinating connectivity initiatives between central and state levels; instruments to support cross-border stability and security; new international partnerships, especially with regional organisations and multilateral institutions; closer regional collaboration on infrastructure norms and standards; and increased engagement with the private sector.

Keywords: Land connectivity, Bay of Bengal, Southeast Asia, India, Indo-Pacific