Japan hands over third ship to Myanmar for Rakhine State

The third ship for operating transport services on the coastal route in Rakhine State was handed over to the Ministry of Transport and Communications by the Japanese government during a ceremony yesterday in Yangon.

Kissapanadi-3 will operate between Sittway and Kyaukpyu along the coastal route.

 

The service on the new route will reduce travel time from the previous seven hours along the river to four hours along the coastal route.

 

Speaking at the handing over ceremony at the Rose Garden Hotel on Pansodan Street in Yangon, the Union Minister for Transport and Communications highlighted the need for modern ships which ensure safety of passengers while travelling on the rivers or along the coast as people are relying on waterways.

 

Kissapanadi-3 was built at a cost of 1 billion Japanese yen at the Sumidagawa Shipyard, under the Grand Aid for Economic and Social Development Programme 2016.

 

The first ship, Kissapanadi-1, arrived in Kyaukpyu from Japan on 14 March, 2017. It has been operating along the Sittway-Myaybon-Kyaukpyu route since 10 April the same year.

 

Kissapanadi-2 arrived five months after the first ship, and has been plying the Sittway-Myaybon-Kyaukpyu route since 1 September, 2017.

 

At the handing over ceremony yesterday, Mr. Masashi Adachi from Japan’s Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism presented a scale ship model to Union Minister U Than Sin Maung to mark the handing over of Kissapanadi-3, and the Union Minister presented a gift to Mr. Lchiro Maruxama from the Japanese ministry.

 

The ceremony came to an end with Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pyu presenting gifts to the Japanese Ambassador and the Union Minister. —MNA

 

(Translated by Kyaw Zin Lin)