Thailand surveys location for second bridge with Burma

by Usa Pichai
Saturday, 28 November 2009 13:46

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Thailand has started searching for a suitable location to build the second Thailand-Burma Friendship Bridge on the Moei River even as the Thai Deputy Commerce Minister is slated to visit Burma to discuss border trade.

Tak provincial officials are surveying for a location to build a new bridge, which may be situated in Thasailoud village in Mae Sot district. Search is also on for another land about 1000 rais [250 acres] to build a ‘One Stop Service Center’ (OSS) and warehouses to support border trade and logistics on the Tak province border with Myawaddy township of Burma.

Weerachai Rakamthong, Director of Maesot’s Department of Highway said that the survey and designing of a new bridge would take about one year, as the department is seeking a consensus among local residents to widen the Tak-Maesot road which is 86 kilometres long, according to a report in a Thai news website Manager .

Meanwhile, an official from the Tak Provincial Department of Commerce revealed that Alongkorn Polbutra, Thailand’s Deputy Minister of Commerce is scheduled to visit Burma from December 8 to 13 for discussions on commerce and bilateral relationship in the border area with Burmese leaders and key ministers.

During the trip, the Thai Deputy Minister will propose to the Burmese government to open a tourism route from Maesot-Myawaddy-Moulmein and to consider building of the second and maybe the third friendship bridge on Moei River. He will propose construction of a road from Maesot-Myawaddy and Kohkareik township 28 kilometres in length with a budget of 872 million Baht [26.4 million US$].

Early last month, Thailand‘s cabinet approved the project with the aim of developing a border economic zone in Mae Sot district of Tak province, bordering Myawaddy township in Burma.

The first project is to build the second Thailand-Burma Friendship Bridge on Moei River to cater to the increasing need for transportation of goods through the border. In addition, it would serve the scheme of the East-West Corridor economics. The development plan includes building Special Economic Zones, logistics centres and warehouses near the border of Mae Sot district.

The economic zone in Tak Province project was started three years ago with the objective of boosting trade and it was expected to stop workers migrating to big cities such as Bangkok or nearby provinces by providing more job opportunities near the border.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, in 2008, the trading on the border of Thailand and Burma accounted for 144,000 million Baht [4,363 million US$], in Myawaddy alone. Mae Sot accounted for about 20,000 million Baht [606 million US$]. It is expected that the new economic zone would push it up to 40,000 million Baht [1,202 million US$], excluding income from tax and other investments.