The Myanmar government has approved a proposal allowing the Thai government to help improve the condition of a 68-km road which serves as an important link in the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) transport route, according to the Transport Ministry.
Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith confirmed the approval after returning from a visit to the country.
The Thai cabinet endorsed a plan on Tuesday to help Myanmar improve the 68-km section of the road linking Endu and Thaton in southern Myanmar at a cost of 1.8 billion baht that will be shouldered by the Thai government.
Next, a bilateral committee will be set up to jointly survey the road and work on the design, said Mr Arkhom.
The road surface will be improved and the shoulder will also be widened, he said.
Myanmar also wants Thailand's assistance in developing more roads that will be included in the transnational route serving the EWEC, he said.
In this regard, he said, both sides will have to jointly carry out studies required before the construction design process can begin, he said.
Preliminary information showed that the EWEC route into Myanmar now contains several bottlenecks which must be removed, he said.
The EWEC will stretch from India to Vietnam via Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.
As for progress in the construction of a second bridge over the Moei River near the Mae Sot-Myawaddy immigration checkpoint, Mr Arkhom said the project is about 93% complete.
The bridge construction project is waiting for the Myanmar government's approval of a budget to expropriate the land on which the immigration office will be built by the Thai builders on the Myanmar side, he said.
The Myanmar government is expected to allow the Thai builders to enter on Myanmar territory and begin construction some time this month, he said.
The immigration offices on both sides are expected to be opened next year, he said.
The government also aims to accelerate negotiations with Myanmar regarding traffic and cross-border transport at the Mae Sot-Myawaddy immigration checkpoint, he said.
The talks that are being conducted under the framework of the Greater Mekong Subregion Cross-Border Transport Agreement (GMS CBTA) which should be wrapped up within the next two months, the transport minister said.