Myanmar is planning to build a deep- sea port in Kyaukphyu, western coastal Rakhine state, to facilitate maritime trade with neighboring countries, local traders said Saturday.

The Kyaukphyu deep-sea port on the Maday Island in the state will be built by a financially strong private company, the Asia World, which has carried out survey at the project site recently, the traders added.

According to experts, the planned Kyaukphyu deep-sea port will serve as a transit trade center for goods destined to port cities of Chittagong, Yangon and Calcutta.

Kyaukphyu also stands at a point on a proposed land route connecting southwestern China's Kunming in Yunnan province with Myanmar's Sittwe through Mandalay. The overall road link between Myanmar and China under study is outlined as Kunming-Mandalay- Kyaukphyu-Sittwe.

Kyaukphyu, which has a water depth of 20 meters and is capable of accommodating 4,000 TEU container vessel, will also connect another road link known as Taungkok-Maei-Kyaukphyu.

Once the 1,943-kilometer Kunming-Kyuakphu road is connected, Myanmar will be benefited from transit trade in terms of revenue from goods exported to China with availability of job opportunities in the region, experts said.

The Kunming-Sittwe development road plan was discussed at workshops held in Mandalay and Kunming respectively in 2002, which were also attended by experts of Germany and India.

Kyaukphyu has been found as an area where potential of oil and gas resource exists.

Meanwhile, under an economic cooperation strategy (ECS) of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, Myanmar and Thailand are building a deep-sea port at Dawei, southern Tanintharyi division.

The seaport project and a Dawei-Kachanburi road link are being carried out in one package together with a 1,360-kilometer trilateral highway project between India, Myanmar and Thailand.

Source: Xinhua