ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

By LAWI WENG | The Chamber of Commerce in Thailand’s Tak Province has proposed a plan to build a second “Friendship Bridge” linking Mae Sot and Myawaddy, according to the head of the local business association.

Ampol Chatchaiyareuk, chairman of the Tak Chamber of Commerce, told The Irrawaddy today that he proposed the idea during a commercial trade meeting held in Mae Sot on Saturday. The meeting included representatives from Thailand, Burma, China and Laos.

“If the Burmese government agrees to do it, we will build it,” said Amphol. “We are just waiting for their approval.”

He said a new bridge is necessary because the existing one is getting old and is not suitable for large trucks. He added that the new bridge would bring a twofold increase in border trade.

The proposed bridge would be built in Shwe Kokko, a village in Myawaddy Township that is under the control of Brigade 999 of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA).

According to a Karen businessman in Myawaddy, the DKBA has long had plans to build a bridge linking the village to Mae Sot, on the Thai side of the border.

He said the group, which has close connections to Burma’s ruling regime, has already constructed a new road to handle the expected increase in transport traffic, and has tried to attract local businesspeople to invest in the village.

“They have been telling me for a long time to buy a plot of land for trading there, but there’s still no new bridge,” he added. “That’s why I haven’t bought any land there yet.”

Thailand earns around 1 billion baht (US $28 million) monthly from the bilateral border trade between Myawaddy and Mae Sot, according to the Tak Chamber of Commerce.

The two countries began official border trade in Mae Sot after the Thai-Burma Friendship Bridge opened in 1997. A border trade zone in Myawaddy is expected to increase trade between the two countries.