The Ministry of Construction unveiled four projects to be implemented under China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), including expressways, a bridge and a tunnel, which will form crucial links in trade routes with China, as reported by The Irrawaddy.

These four “early harvest” projects, under the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), were not part of the nine early-harvest infrastructure projects that Myanmar has signed with China during last year’s BRI Forum in Beijing attended by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

The projects include an expressway connecting Muse in Shan State with Mandalay via Tigyaing in eastern Sagaing Region, a highway connecting Naypyitaw with Kyaukphyu (location of a Chinese-backed SEZ and port), a new bridge and an outer ring road in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone (SAZ) in northern Shan State, as well as the Watalone Tunnel project also in Shan State. All projects aim to facilitate trade routes with China border towns.

The announcement comes as the government is blowing hot and cold on its relationship with China. A mere week after the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations with the Asian giant, the Auditor General voiced concerns over Myanmar’s growing Chinese debt with high interest rates (see article). Also last week, the Myanmar government announced that it was contracting a Swiss firm to oversee and scrutinize Beijing’s ambitious railway project to connect Mandalay with Kunming in Yunnan province, a crucial CMEC/BRI milestone.