No.13 - 07/2006 14 July 2006 Thai-Burma Relations Wachara Taengcham, chief of Tak Highway Office #2, says he will be proposing a road through Burmese territory to connect two Thai villages divided by the existing demarkation, reported Manager Online yesterday. The proposed road in question, 28 km, between Phop Phra district’s Waley in the north with Umphang district’s Nongluang village in the south, will not only reduce the distance between Maesod to Umphang from 165 km to 123 km, but also cut the length of travel time from 4 hours to 2 hours, he said. The stretch between the two towns is notorious by its 1,219 bends, more than 7 bends per km on the average. Moreover, the road will pass through areas earmarked for contract farming with Burma, totaling 80,000 acres, he said. Bangkok will have to negotiate with Rangoon for approval, he added. Comment: My guess is that due to the political situation the proposal is a bit unrealistic & probably wont happen in the near future. Davidfl Keep The Power On
