Thailand and Myanmar ink agreement to jointly develop deepsea port

Foreign ministers of Thailand and Myanmar have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop Myanmar's Tavoy deepsea port and related infrastructure projects designed for facilitating goods transport from Europe and the Middle East in Singapore.

The MoU was signed by Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and his Myanmar counterpart Nyan Win on the sidelines of a special meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Mr. Noppadon told after the signing of the MoU that both countries would help develop Tavoy deepsea port, construct a 130-kilometre road from the port to Thailand and develop other related projects. Upon completion, the port would facilitate goods transportation from Europe and the Middle East to Thailand's Laem Chabang port and cargoes could be easily transported to Laos and southern China from there. Transportation could be reduced by more than 10 days, according to the Thai foreign minister. The project fits very well with the West-East Economic Corridor, Mr. Noppadon explained, adding that China is also interested in building a dual rail track with trains traveling at a speed of nearly 200 kilometres per hour. The site construction survey is expected to be completed by the end of this year and construction is expected to take about six years, he added. Terminal giant DP World is also reportedly eyeing a port concession in the far south of Thailand.

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