Second Friendship Bridge to be built at Mae Sot
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A second "friendship bridge" linking Myawaddy and Mae Sot on the Thai-Myanmar border will be built soon, Myanmar's Ministry of Construction revealed this week.
Ministry managing director U Kyaw Linn said large vehicles up to 60 tonnes would use the new bridge, while the current bridge is for small and medium-sized vehicles. The construction site had already been identified.
Deputy Construction Minister U Kyaw Lwin saud: “We have a plan to build Friendship Bridge No 2 between Myanmar and Thailand. The Thai government will render assistance to construct this new bridge.
“A new site was chosen from three proposed places north of the existing bridge by representatives of both countries back in June 2010. The chosen site is located only three miles away from Myawaddy town,” he said.
“The cost of the bridge will be arranged by the Thai side and they are making additional surveys for detailed calculation. The road department under Thailand’s Ministry of Transport takes the lead in cooperating with Myanmar engineers and the feasibility survey is already done.”
The existing Friendship Bridge was inaugurated in August 1997.
Myanmar closed the bridge in July 2010 when the Thai side reinforced the retaining wall on the Thaungyin River bank without consultation. It was only reopened in December 2011 after a series of negotiations between the two countries.
Myawaddy border trade has been brisk since, with exports from Myanmar hitting US$8.45 million (Bt264 million) while imports totalled $13.6 million from April to June.
