Highway connecting Thailand, Myanmar, Laos helps boost cross-border economic activities
Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri has announced the country completed the
expansion of the Highway 12 that connects Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos.
Thailand expects
the expanded highway will help significantly enhance cross-border economic
activities among the three nations.
Highway 12 is a
part of the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC), a 1,530 km-long route that connects four
Southeast Asian countries, stretching from Myanmar in the west to Vietnam in
the east.
The Thai government believes that the completed highway will
provide a substantial boost to logistics, trade, and tourism, as it effectively
links the Andaman coast to the East Sea.
Approximately 793 km of the EWEC is situated in Thailand starting from the second Thai-Myanmar
Friendship Bridge in Tak’s Mae Sot district and passing through Sukhothai,
Phitsanulok, Phetchabun, Chaiyaphum, Khon Kaen, Kalasin, and Mukdahan provinces, where it connects to
Laos at Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge.
The recently upgraded stretch between Kalasin and Mukdahan with the length of 115.6 km is now a four-lane
highway, costing the government 5.8 billion baht ( 166.88 million USD).
Anucha said that
Highway 12 is expected to promote tourism in the area as well as improve the
quality of life of communities along the border.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s Finance Ministry has
said that the EWEC will boost
transborder trade by at least 50%.
According to a report from the Office of the National
Economic and Social Development Council, the
highway will also benefit the special economic zones (SEZs) in Mukdahan. There
are 868 new businesses in the province's SEZs with a value of 1.6 billion baht,
Anucha said./.