Arunachal Frontier Highway

Last updated

Arunachal Frontier Highway
Route information
Length1,748 km (1,086 mi)
Major junctions
West end Bomdila
East end Vijaynagar in Changlang district
Location
Country India
States Arunachal Pradesh
Major citiesNafra, Sarli, Huri, Mechuka, Tuting, Hunli, Hayuliang, Hawai, Miao, Kharsang,
Highway system

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 billionorUS$3.4 billion in 2023) and total cost including 6 additional inter-corridors is ₹ 40,000 crore (equivalent to ₹420 billionorUS$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]

Contents

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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arunachal Pradesh</span> State in northeast India

Arunachal Pradesh is a state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and largest town. It borders the Indian states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares international borders with Bhutan in the west, Myanmar in the east, and a disputed 1,129 km border with China's Tibet Autonomous Region in the north at the McMahon Line. Arunachal Pradesh is claimed in its entirety by China as South Tibet as part of the Tibet Autonomous Region; China occupied some regions of Arunachal Pradesh in 1962 but later withdrew its forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Kameng district</span> District of Arunachal Pradesh in India

West Kameng is a district of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. It accounts for 8.86% of the total area of the state. The name is derived from the Kameng river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, that flows through the district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miji people</span> Ethnic group of Arunachal Pradesh, India

The Miji, are a social group of Arunachal Pradesh, India. They are located in various districts of Arunachal Pradesh including the West Kameng, East Kameng and Kurung Kumey.Their population of 37,000 are found near the lower parts of the sub-Himalayan hills bordering Assam; they speak the Sajalong language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Siang district</span> District of Arunachal Pradesh in India

West Siang district is an administrative district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India.

Seppa is the headquarter of the East Kameng district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Sepla means 'marshy' land in the local dialect. It lies on the bank of Kameng River with a helipad located in the heart of the town. It is located 160 kilometres (99 mi) from Itanagar and 213 kilometres (132 mi) from Tezpur (Assam) connected by motorable road. The village of Seppa has two out of the sixty Vidhan Sabha Constituencies of Arunachal Pradesh. They are Seppa East and Seppa West.

Daporijo is a census town in the Upper Subansiri district, Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh in the Northeast of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anjaw district</span> District of Arunachal Pradesh in India

Anjaw District (Pron:/ˈændʒɔ:/) is an administrative district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in north-east India. It was created as a district in 2004, by splitting off from the Lohit district under the Arunachal Pradesh Re-organization of Districts Amendment Act. The district borders China on the north. Hawai, at an altitude of 1296 m above sea level, is the district headquarters, located on the banks of the Lohit River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra River. Anjaw is the easternmost district in India. The furthest villages towards the border with China are Dong, Walong, Kibithu and Kaho.

The Trans-Arunachal Highway (TAH), which includes an existing 1,811 km (1,125 mi) route comprising NH-13 and parts of NH-15, NH-215 and SH-25, is an under-construction 2-lane more than 2,407 km (1,496 mi) long highway passing through 16 districts in Arunachal Pradesh state in India. It runs from LAC in Tawang in northwest to Kanubari in southeast at tri-junction of Assam-Nagaland-Arunachal Pradesh. It connects at least 16 districts of Arunachal Pradesh.

Koloriang is a hilly district headquarters town of Kurung Kumey district in Arunachal Pradesh, India, bordering Tibet. It has an altitude of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), is surrounded by high mountains and is located in the left bank of river Kurung, one of the major tributaries of Subansiri river. The climate is rainy and hot during summer and very cold in winter. Located at an altitude of 1,040 metres above sea level, this town is also an old administrative centre. It is about 257 km from state capital, Itanagar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vijaynagar, Arunachal Pradesh</span> Village in Arunachal Pradesh, India

Vijaynagar is the most remote town and circle headquarters in the Changlang district, Arunachal Pradesh, India.

East-West Industrial Corridor Highway of Arunachal Pradesh, a 2-lane and 966.78 km long including existing 274.20 km Pasighat-Manmao route, is a proposed highway across the lower foothills of Arunachal Pradesh state in India, from Bhairabkunda in Assam at the tri-junction of Bhutan-Assam-Arunachal Pradesh in the west to the Kanubari tri-junction of Nagaland-Assam-Arunachal Pradesh in the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Highway 13 (India)</span> National Highway in India

National Highway 13, part of the larger Trans-Arunachal Highway network, is a 1,559 km long two-lane national highway across Arunachal Pradesh in India running from Tawang in northwest to Wakro in southeast. Entire route became operational in 2018 when 6.2 km long Dibang River Bridge was completed across Dibang River. Sela Tunnel, a shorter alternative route with target completion by Jan/Feb 2022, will provide all-weather connectivity. Before the renumbering of highways, it was known as NH 229 and NH52. This strategically important highway enhances Indian military's capabilities in combating the threat of China's Western Theater Command opposite India's eastern sector of Line of Actual Control.

Tawang Air Force station in Arunachal Pradesh in India has a functional heliport and fixed-wing "Advanced Landing Ground" (AGL) capable of handling Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has since 2016 upgraded 8 ALG in Arunachal Pradesh and made those operation by 2018, all of which has been offered for the operation of civil helicopter and flights for tourism and the UDAN scheme.

Taliha is a village in the Upper Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh state of India.

Nacho is a village in Upper Subansiri district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shi Yomi district</span> District of Arunachal Pradesh in India

Shi Yomi district is one of the 23 districts of Arunachal Pradesh state in northeastern India. Shi-Yomi district was created on 9 December 2018 by dividing the West Siang district when northern areas along the China border were made into a newly created Shi-Yomi district and the southern areas remained the part-truncated West Siang district. It has its headquarters at Tato.

Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground is an Indian Air Force airstrip located at Mechuka in Shi Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. It is an Advance Landing Ground (ALG) of Indian Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">India–China Border Roads</span> Indian government project to develop border roads

India–China Border Roads is a Government of India project for developing infrastructure along the Sino-Indian border by constructing strategic roads, including bridges and tunnels. The ICBR project is largely in response to Chinese infrastructure development along the borderlands with India. Several entities are responsible for constructing ICBR, including Border Roads Organisation (BRO) which handles the bulk of the ICBR road construction work, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MoDNER), Central Public Works Department (CPWD), public works departments of respective states and others. At least 67 per cent of the road network assigned to BRO falls under ICBR.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Eye on China, govt plans a 1,700-km 'frontier highway'". Times of India. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "As LAC skirmishes increase, India to build a 1,700-km highway in Arunachal Pradesh". WION. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Narendra Modi government to provide funds for restoration of damaged highways". Diligent Media Corporation Ltd. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Dash, Dipak Kumar. "Top officials to meet to expedite road building along China border". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 "Indian Government Plans Highway Along Disputed China Border". Ankit Panda. thediplomat.com. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 "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. 1 2 "Why India is planning a new road near the China border". BBC News. BBC. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frontier Highway, MoRTH, accessed 8 Feb 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Centre Clears Construction Of 6 Corridors In Arunachal Near China Border, NDTV, 20 Oct 2022.
  18. 1 2 3 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.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.