THERE is a big news that China is keen to establish a high speed railway to link Kunming-Dhaka-Kolkata as part of its efforts to revive the ancient silk route, traversing through Myanmar and Bangladesh. The proposal surfaced at the recently held Greater Mekong Sub-regional (GMS) meeting aims at developing a communication line to give boost to Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) multi-model trade corridor which China is footing in the recent years.
China proposes to build the high-speed 3,000-kilometre railway between Kolkata and Kunming, capital city of south western Chinese province of Yunnan. The line would pass through Mandalay in Myanmar and pass through Chittagong and Dhaka to Kolkata to join the greater Indian railway network. The project could be funded through China’s Silk Road Development Fund or the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Fund.
The long rail route could be a critical component for the BCIM corridor when BBIN initiative is also going to link Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal by a network of road connectivity. It appears that the region would step into a new era of growth by opening of more trade and investment if and when both the projects would become a reality. The Kunming-Kolkata railway initiative is a welcome move to Bangladesh and China deserves appreciation to break a new horizon in this region. China has pledged $40 billion for the railway line; which may in turn create USD 132 billion worth of business and investment to bring a new boost to the region’s socio-economic growth. Yunnan enjoys a crucial geographical location, linking the BCIM region with GMS region. The new railway line may thus have the potential to link China, India and the entire Indo-China region to a vast market with physical connectivity; which was so far beyond practical imagination.
India and China are already working to strengthen connectivity by air and as part of it Ming said Shandong Airlines would start flight between Kunming and New Delhi from next month. Currently Kunming is connected with Kolkata by air. Kunmimg is a favourite destination of Bangladeshi businessmen amongst other Chinese cities. It appears that the Chinese proposal is very ambitious in that it envisages co-operation of four countries having different interest and risk calculations. People would however tend to hope that the government of all these countries would agree to allow the railway line to traverse through their territories in view of its high potentials, although its implementation may take at least a decade from now.
Even though China is willing to fund it, countries like India, may require forging greater cooperation with China in matters relating to the railway project shunning the fear of Chinese hegemony in the region. For Bangladesh it would be a welcoming development but Myanmar may be required to be ready to brace for a new reality beyond its present sensitivities in domestic policies. There may be many push back factors in the short run but the pull up factors are going to be much stronger to make it a worthy project at the end. Let us wait for the best.
