BCIM Economic Corridor: Current Status

Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor is a multi-modal transport corridor with the aim to connect India (Kolkata) and china (Kunming) via Bangladesh (Dhaka) and Myanmar (Mandalay). It is intended to advance multi-modal connectivity, promote investment and trade and facilitate people-to-people contacts through a combination of road, rail, water and air linkages in the region. The multi-modal corridor will be the first expressway between India and China and will pass through Myanmar and Bangladesh.

History

In 1990s, idea of sub -regional cooperation within the BCIM was envisaged to promote connectivity in the region through infrastructure development, by stimulating trade and investment thereby alleviating poverty and promote overall growth of the region. The idea was given a shape in the form of BCIM forum in 1999 in the first ‘Kunming Initiative’, the capital of Chinese Yunnan province. The aim of the forum was to create a platform for discussion among the major stakeholders regarding issues concerning trade and growth in the region, strengthen cooperation and institutionalize the arrangements to deepen BCIM ties.

The turning point came in 2013 during the meeting between Chinese Premier Li  and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wherein the importance of development of a trade corridor between BCIM was discussed and final shape was given in December 2013 in Kunming with the lauch of BCIM-Economic corridor.

Perceived Advantages and Issues/Concerns

The project if implemented has immense benefits in terms of energy sufficiency as Bangladesh with natural gas reserves of about 200 trillion cubic feet, the largest in the Asia-Pacific, could become one of the major energy exporting countries. Other benefits include generation of Employment Opportunities, boost in Tourism, development of infrastructure through setting up of industrial zones, access to several booming markets in Southeast Asia.

For India and china, it has specific advantages in terms of development of north east states, boost to India’s Act East Policy, development of China’s Yunnan and adjoining provinces and most importantly giving china access to Bay of Bengal, enabling it to lessen its dependence on the narrow and risk-prone Malacca Straits for global trade and energy imports.

However, Security issues remain the major constraint. As the border areas of India-Myanmar (Naga insurgency), India-Bangladesh (smuggling), India-china( areas around Arunachal Pradesh ),Bangladesh-Myanmar(refugee crisis)etc are vulnerable to ethnic insurgencies, drug trafficking and smuggling. Tackling these transnational crimes will be the biggest challenge as it has the potential to derail the project. Apart from security concerns, other countries fear that BCIM will only worsen other three countries trade deficits as cheap and low-quality Chinese goods are likely to flood their markets to the detriment of domestic industry.