Last week, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a loan of USD 483.8 million for a new highway linking Bago with Kyaiktiyo, Mon State.
The 64-kilometer highway will be a key component of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) East-West Economic Corridor initiative. It aims to boost the flow of people and goods between Myanmar and Thailand. Construction could begin in 2022, according to The Myanmar Times.

“The project will help strengthen Myanmar’s connectivity with Thailand and other countries along the GMS corridor and promote trade, tourism, and investment, as well as climate resilience and environmental sustainability,” The Asset quoted ADB senior transport specialist Shihiru Date as saying.

The highway project also calls for a new bridge across the Sittaung River, financed with a USD 265 million loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, The Asset report continued.

The loan will only add to a pile of foreign debt accumulated this year as Myanmar borrowed and spent billions of dollars to fund its COVID-19 relief efforts. On the other hand, trade with Thailand and other ASEAN neighbors to the east remained strong despite the pandemic. This was due in no small part to new physical and political infrastructure, including a bridge across the Moei River at Myawaddy, a planned highway linking Dawei with the Thai border, and bi-lateral agreements to facilitate commerce at border crossings.