Japan eyes Matarbari industrial corridor linking Indian Northeast

Japan is planning to develop an "industrial value chain" through Matarbari deep-seaport to connect India's seven northeastern states with the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia through Bangladesh, Indian media reports.

Once completed, the Japan-backed facility will be Bangladesh's only deep-seaport.  Bangladesh currently relies on Singapore, Colombo and Malaysian ports to handle large vessels.

"A model to emulate is Bangkok, which led regional economic growth through its ports and the Southern Economic Corridor," quoiting a Japanese official The Hindu writes on Sunday referring to the Thailand-Cambodia-Vietnam development corridor supported by Japan through financing and infrastructure planning, ahead of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's expected visit to Japan later this month.
 
Japanese diplomats see the corridor as a model that could be adapted around Matarbari to strengthen connectivity among Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar. Matarbari deep-seaport is being developed with financing from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).