KALADAN NEWS
Dated: Tuesday, February 8, 2004
Burma-Bangladesh Road Link Resumes in Next Month
Chittagong,
Feb. 8: Burma
and Bangladesh
have finalized the direct road link route between Rangoon
and Dhaka in the recent joint meeting held in Rangoon
with Technical Task Force (TTF) of the two countries, said official of the
Bangladesh Communication Ministry.
According to The Independent, a
daily newspaper of Bangladesh,
Additional Chief Engineer of Roads and Highways Mohammad Idris
Mia led a 4-member Bangladesh
team to the meeting, while a 6-member Burmese delegation was headed by Managing
Director of the Construction Ministry U Han Zaw.
Both the countries have agreed to
develop a 130-kilometre of highway to be built from Ramu
in Cox's Bazar,
Bangladesh
to Kyauktaw
Township,
Arakan
State
in Burma.
Out of 130 kilometers of road
necessary to establish the link, 43 kilometers would be built in the first
phase. Of this, 23 kilometers fall in Bangladesh
territory stretching from Ramu to Ghundom
and the rest 20 kilometers in Burma
from Taungbro to Bawlibazar
(Kying
Chaung
Village)
of Maungadaw north.
Bangladesh
also would build at its expense about 20 kilometers of the road in Burma
side. It decided to assist Burma
because otherwise the main route of the Asian
Highway would go
through India
bypassing Bangladesh.
The route would be developed as
part of the Asian
Highway projects to
have road links between neighboring Thailand,
China
and other East Asian countries. The Asian
Highway would link 42
countries in Asia with Europe via
Turkey.
According to a communications ministry official, who participated the meeting
in Rangoon,
"We have completed all technical aspects of the project, now we need the
approval of finance ministry for funds."
"If both the countries agree on financial grounds, we can immediately
start the construction works of the project. And if everything goes alright,
the tender procedure for the project may start from next month," he added.
The roads and highways department has prepared a project concept paper (PCP)
for building the road.
According to the PCP estimated budget, the project would cost Tk 136.34 crore, of which Tk 86 crore would be spent for
the Burma
side and Tk 47 crore for
the Bangladesh
side. The project cost in Burma
side would be higher because the area is hilly and the road there would require
some long bridges and culverts, the source said.
The new route would bypass the previously considered route through Maungdaw and Buthidaung
Townships
of Arakan
State,
the officials said.
The originally proposed route was
cancelled after it had appeared unfeasible to make a road link between Rangoon
and Dhaka, said a high
official who had visited the area.
Burma,
however, would conduct the survey and design of the road on its own. The
24-foot wide road will have two lanes. Bangladesh
expects to have the final survey report from Burma
by next month.
A memorandum of understanding and a number of agreements to co-operate with
each other were signed between Rangoon
and Dhaka on April 4, 2004, while Gen. Khin Nyunt,
the former State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Prime Minister had
visited and laid a foundation stone of the road at Ramu
under Cox’s Bazar District of Bangladesh. #
For further information, please
contact at:
Mobile:
+880-11 227 138
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.kaladanpress.org
www.kaladanpress.com