June 07, 2020
By Kyaw Htike Soe
Taninthayi Region is composed of many islands and some residents in the region rely on the waterway to travel to other areas. The far southern region is Myanmar’s main production market for bird’s nest and sits close to the border with Thailand. Road transportation is considered to be the most important factor in the economic and social development of a region. Development of the road transport network plays an important role in the economic growth of a region.
The proper development of road transport network not only reduces the cost of transportation both in terms of money and time but also helps in the integration of various regions and states in the country and better understanding of neighbouring countries at the international level. Since assuming office, the local government has been trying its best to upgrade the road transport infrastructure, pouring majority of its budget into construction and maintenance of the transport road networks, to make operational in all seasons. Currently, three major bridges are being built in Taninthayi Region by the Ministry of Construction with the aim of improving income and the standard of living of local people, enabling them to visit other areas in a convenient manner, and promoting tourism industry in the region.
Tamote Lutlut Bridge being built near milepost 221/2 on the Dawei-Myeik Road is one of three main bridges in Taninthayi Region, according to an official tasked with supervising the project. The river-crossing bridge is located about 16 miles north of Myeik and connects Myeik with Palaw and Dawei Townships. The Bridge Construction Group-4 of the Department of Bridge under the ministry commenced construction of the bridge on 1 August 2017. The project as a whole is 94 percent complete and it is scheduled to be opened to traffic in early August this year, said U Aung Kyaw Soe, Assistant Director of the Bridge Construction Group-4. The bridge is 1,287 ft. long, 24 ft. wide and has a 3 ft. long pedestrian walkway on each side. The bridge’s clearance is about 15 ft. and the waterway under the bridge is 164 ft. and it can withstand up to 75 tons of weight.
In addition, a sea-crossing bridge linking Kawthoung Township with an island village named Pulone Tonetone Village is being built in Taninthayi Region. Pulone Tone Tone, an island village in the Andaman Sea, consists of more than 1,000 households with a population of over 3,000. The village has abundance of marine products. In the past, residents from the village faced many challenges in health, education, and economic sectors as they had to use motorcycles and boats to go to Kawthoung through Chaungwa Village which is about 7 miles far from Kawthoung. Construction of a 2,690 ft. long, 15 ft. wide wooden bridge was completed on 6 December 2004. Now a new sea-crossing concrete bridge is being built because the wooden bridge was badly damaged by the seawater.
The bridge piles are constructed from reinforcement cement concrete up to hard rock. They took at least two weeks to finish construction of a bored pile and focused on durability of the bridge, said U Nyunt Thein, a civil engineer from the group. The new facility is 2,400 ft. long, 24 ft. wide and has a 3 ft. long pedestrian walkway on each side. The clearance of the bridge is 80 ft. wide, 3 ft. high and the structure is constructed mostly from reinforced concrete. Construction of Myanmar’s first sea-crossing bridge began in August 2017. The project has been 93 percent finished so far and the bridge is expected to be commissioned into service soon.
Once completed, local people hope to use the new bridge in all seasons with greater ease. Marine products from the region can easily be transported to other regions and states across the country, providing better road transportation for locals and contributing to the balanced growth between rural and urban areas. The bridge
would promote development of the border trade, boost tourism in the region, facilitate commodity flow and help local people travel to Mon State, Bago and Yangon Regions by car round-the-clock.
