A day after Burma and Bangladesh signed an agreement on a direct road link between the two countries, the Western Command Commander and Arakan State Peace and Development Council Chairman, General Maung Shin, arrived yesterday at the western Burmese border town of Maungdaw to inspect the site of the possible road link, according to a local official's report.
"He arrived yesterday evening in Maungdaw and he will leave for the border town of Taungbro today to inspect the road link," the official said.
Bangladesh and Burma agreed to construct the first phase of the road link between Gundhum in Cox's Bazar of Bangladesh, and Kyingchaung, or Boli Bazar, in Burma's Maungdaw, with funding from Bangladesh. The proposed road will be 25 kilometers in length.
Commander Major General Maung Shin will reportedly hold a meeting with a number of officials from government departments in Taungbro, and he will be providing instruction regarding the friendship road link between the two neighbors.
He is expected to visit the construction site of the Friendship Bridge crossing the upper Naff River connecting Gundhum in Bangladesh and Taungbro in Burma.
The local official said Commander Maung Shin also has plans to meet with model villagers who recently moved from Burma proper to Taungbro model village, and he will be distributing some materials to them.
The road is also important for Burma to promote trade and tourism with Bangladesh. It is because of this that the Western Command Commander visited the area soon after the agreement on the road link was signed by authorities of the two countries in Rangoon on Saturday, says and analyst from Cox's Bazar.
The proposed road will stretch from Taungbro to Kyauktaw in Burma via Gundhum to Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, and will be constructed in two phases at an estimated cost of USD 141.37 million.
In the first phase, a 25-kilometer stretch of road from Gundhum in Bangladesh to Boli Bazar in Burma's Arakan State will be constructed at an estimated cost of around USD 25 million.#
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