The government of India has announced plans to invest $723m in the first 11 sections of a strategic road in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in the country’s far northeast.

The plan is to build a 1,748km two-lane road within 20km of India’s border with China’s Tibetan Autonomous Region, the Times of India reports.

It’s part of the $4.8bn Arunachal Frontier Highway project, intended to allow the Indian army to quickly reinforce its presence along the state’s 1,126km border with China.

The highway will connect the town of Tawang, home to India’s largest Buddhist monastery, to Vijaynagar near the Myanmar border. On the way it will pass through remote and mountainous terrain, making the Frontier Highway likely to one of the toughest logistical challenges India has undertaken.

A top road transport ministry official told The Times that three agencies – the State Public Works Department, the Border Road Organisation, and the National Highway Corporation – would build the highway.

The official said: “The entire project will be executed in phases. By the end of this financial year, we are confident of bidding out nearly 400km of this mega road project. This will create many jobs for locals.”