Kaladan News

Dhaka –Rangoon Highway Stone Laid

Chittagong, April 7: Communication Minister Nazamal Huda and Burma Transport Minister Major General Hla Myint Swe laid the foundation stone for the 133-km highway on 5^th April 2004 that is expected to be complete in a year and a half according to our correspondent.

The friendship highway, which would subsequently link to the Asian Highway, will go through 38 other countries, said in the Daily Star.

The cost of the road is estimated at Taka 605 crore (US$10.083 crore), within which Bangladesh has agreed to build a bridge across the Naf River.

Government officials said Bangladesh has already given Burma $10 million to construct bridges and culverts on its side of the border. The road will run from 36 kms within Bangladesh to 97 kms within Burma from the border town of Maungdaw in the state of Arakan.

General Khin Nyunt also visited the temple of the Rakhaings in Cox’s Bazar and talked to monks and Rakhaing leaders. He also flew to Bandarban early on 5^th April from Dhaka and visited a number of Buddhist pagodas and donated $40,000 for the development of a Buddhist pagoda located on top of a 300 feet hill.

On 6^th April, the last day of his 3-day tour of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Khin Nyunt visited Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) and showed keen interested in setting up such exclusive economic zone in his country.

General Khin Nyunt visited Zia Memorial Museum in the port city and went round different sections of the museum. He signed the visitor’s book mentioning “ General Zia was a real friend of Myanmar and I pay respect Zia to his memory.”

In the afternoon, General Khin Nyunt left Chittagong for home, ending his 3-day visit to Bangladesh. Foreign minister M. Morshed Khan saw off the Burma Prime Minister at Chittagong Airport. ##

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