By Su Yee Mon
C HIEF Minister of Bago Region U Win Thein together with Regional Minister for Planning and Finance U Nyunt Shwe, regional lawmakers, departmental personnel inspected construction of the Bago Bridge (Kawa) in Kawa Township recently. At the construction site, the chief minister and his party were briefed about construction of the bridge by concerned officials from the Special Bridge Group-9 of the Department of Bridge under the Ministry of Construction.
The bridge measuring 600 feet long and 30 feet wide is being constructed with an allotted fund of K 270 million of the regional government’s funds. The bridge has a 3 ft. long pedestrian walkway on each side and can withstand up to 60 tons of weight. Construction of the bridge commenced on 28 May 2018 and it is scheduled to be completed by the end of September 2020. Once completed, local people will be able to use it in all season with greater ease, thereby contributing to improving their education, health, economy and social status. In addition road transportation will no longer be a headache for local people. The Chief Minister also looked into construction of the Walmyolae Bridge on the Yangon-Bago-Mawlamyaing Road. An official from Special Bridge Construction Group-10 clarified the salient points on the construction of the bridge in details.
According to the chief minister, the facility under construction is located on the road to link the Yangon-Bago-Mawlamyaing with Thailand. Upon completion, the bridge is expected to contribute to development of trade in the region, facilitating swift flow of goods and reducing transportation charges. The 210 feet long structure is being built with K 1000 million of the Union Budget by Special Bridge Construction Group-10. The Chief Minister also made an inspection tour to construction site of the Sittoung River crossing bridge (Oakphyat) in Pyu Township recently. The chief minister was briefed about the bridge by the in-charge engineer at the briefing hall of the construction site. The chief minister called for timely completion of the bridge as schedule, focusing on durability of the bridge, worksite safety measures, minimizing losses and meeting the set standard.
He also highlighted that the bridge is necessary for local people so those who are involved in the task need to systematically prioritize the interests of the local people, taking their accountability and responsibility into consideration. The bridge is 800 ft. long, 24 ft. wide and has a 3 ft. long pedestrian walkway on each side. The bridge will be of reinforced concrete facility and is being built with Ks. 4.85 billion by the Bridge Construction Group-10 of the Depart of the Bridge under the Ministry of Construction. Construction of the bridge began on 1 May 2018 and has been about 60 percent finished so far. The bridge is expected to be opened to traffic by 2021 ahead of schedule.
Construction of a reinforced concrete bridge crossing a creek was completed in Nattalin Township, Bago Region. The new inter-village bridge was built on a self-reliant basis by the two Buddhist monks in joining hands with local authorities and villagers to replace the damaged one. The bridge is 135 ft. long, 12 ft. wide and 15 ft. high and can withstand 13 tons of loads. It was constructed at a cost of about Ks. 22.3 million—Ks. 10 million of the Village Development Program initiated by the Department of Rural Development and Ks. 12.3 million donated by local people.
