"THE ROAD trip from Dawei to Htee Khee, on the border with Thailand, can be an uncomfortable experience. Although the 54 kilometres from the Tanintharyi Region capital to the town of Myitta is tarred, the remaining 101km to Htee Khee is rough and bumpy, and the journey takes about six hours during rainy season. At about the half-way mark, where the road runs beside the Tanintharyi River, the Karen National Union has a checkpoint at which all vehicles are stopped and required to pay a fee of THB100 (about K4,885) for every traveller. Despite the shoddy infrastructure and the presence of armed groups like the KNU, many have high hopes for the crossing, and the business opportunities it may bring. Myanmar recently approved a loan from Thailand to upgrade the highway from the border to a long-delayed Special Economic Zone at Dawei. The Myanmar government was reported in July to be negotiating with the concessionaires, including a large Thai construction company, Italian-Thai Development, to start work on the initial phase of the US$8 billion project, which would include a deep-sea port. Htee Khee, which was the headquarters of the KNU’s Brigade 4 until it relocated to a jungle site in 2012, has already started to attract opportunity seekers from other parts of the country who hope to cash in on the expected boom. For now though it remains a relatively quiet outpost, with little visible trade in either direction. The main business in the area appears to be casinos at nearby jungle resorts. Visitors to Htee Khee are greeted by food stalls, shops and other small businesses, most of which are run by residents of Dawei, or by local ethnic Karen. That said, Mon, Bamar and even Pa-O shopkeepers have also established businesses there. A noticeable difference between Htee Khee and other border gates in Myanmar is a paucity of big trucks, though that is likely to change if and when work begins on the SEZ. Most of the vehicles heading to Htee Khee from the Myanmar side are carrying jobseekers heading to Thailand; most of the trucks from the Thai side are delivering fruit, vegetables and fishing equipment. Htee Khee’s development potential has also attracted investors from Dawei and other Tanintharyi Region townships. Thais with an interest in history are frequent visitors to Htee Khee as they head to Dawei and other nearby locations because the region was twice ruled by Siamese kingdoms, from 1287 to 1594 and from 1740 to about 1760..."