Linking Thailand’s Mae Sot district and Myawaddy town in Myanmar.
19 March 2019
TAK: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday opened the second Thai-Myanmar bridge across the Moei River.
The opening ceremony was held in the middle of the new bridge, which links Mae Sot district of Tak province and Myawaddy township in Myanmar.
The completion of the new bridge showed the good ties between the two countries, and the relationship should last, Gen Prayut said.
The bridge is part of the development of Thailand’s East-West Economic Corridor and would boost economic development in Mae Sot and Myawaddy, and lead to other connecting transport projects, the prime minister said.
The two national leaders posed for photos in the middle of the bridge and took the opportunity to discuss bilateral issues, including the problem of smoke-haze air pollution .
The 760-metre-long bridge is four lanes wide – two lanes in each direction. Thailand paid for the construction, about 3 billion baht. The project includes one-stop-service Thai and Myanmar border checkpoints. It was built to alleviate congestion on the first Thai-Myanmar friendship bridge, which is nearby.
Officials expect the new bridge will help lift the value of bilateral border trade from the current 70-80 billion baht to 100 billion baht a year, and promote cross-border tourism.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asean/1647392/second-thai-myanmar-friendship-bridge-opens
