Maungdaw, Arakan State: Major General Khin Zaw, Ministry of Defence, led a 50-member delegation including Chairman of Arakan State Peace and Development Council, Commander of Western Command Maj - Gen Thaung Aye, Minister for Commerce Brig- Gen Tin Naing Thein and other senior officers visited to Taungbro on October 17 morning where the road link construction will begin.
The delegation also visited the Nasaka Burma's border security force headquarters in Kyi Kan Pyin on October 17 evening and Tactical Operations Command (TOC) office in Buthidaung on October 18 morning.
"We are going to build a friendship road jointly with Bangladesh the site for which we recently visited and checked. We want to secure the area where the friendship road will be constructed, to help the authorities transform the border town, Taungbro to a modern border town," said the defence minister during the meetings at Nasaka headquarter and TOC.
The defense minister accompanied Vice-Senior General Maung Aye to Bangladesh on October 7, where the two countries agreed to build a 25-kilometre friendship road from Gundhum in Cox's Bazaar to Bawlibazaar (Kyein Chaung) in Maungdaw at a cost of US$ 20 million. Bangladesh will bear the cost, said sources.
"Bangladesh wants to finalize building of the road link as soon as possible. Whenever the two countries exchanged high-level visits, Dhaka has kept proposing the road link but Burma had been adopting dilatory tactics. But, after General Maung Aye's visit on September 7, Burma has started to survey the area for the road link for the first time and senior officers visited the area, "said Salim, a politician from Arakan.
"The construction work may begin by the end of 2008," the communications secretary of Bangladesh, Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman said after General Maung Aye visited to Bangladesh.
"Security has been beefed up on both sides of the border where the road will be built," said Ahmed from Gundhum.
The defence minister visited Taungbro on October 17 and ordered the authorities of Maungdaw to transform Taungbro as a modern town with a police station, court, administrative offices, hospital, school and market. He also advised the officers to discuss with the people before beginning construction, said an officer from Maungdaw administrative office.
The minister formally opened the stone pillar to mark the road link inside Burma, he added.
When the minister returned to Maungdaw, he visited the border trade station at the jetty and township municipal office, market and the Shewza Bridge which connects Shewza and Maungdaw over Khayuchaung. It has remained broken for long time after being built by UNHCR. He told to the township officer to rebuild the bridge with public help, he added.
"If the junta rebuilds the bridge, it will help but last time, the organizing agent collected money from people who crossed the bridge, harassed them and tortured people including students. We don't want to be harassed again," said an elderly woman who came from Chittagong for medical treatment from Shewza.
Senior officers from both Burma and Bangladesh agreed to build the road link in December 18, 2002, when the Burmese junta supremo Senior-General Than Shwe visited Dhaka, while in 2003, Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia visited Rangoon. In April 4, 2004, the Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt visited Bangladesh and Minister for Transport Maj-Gen Hla Myint Swe and Bangladeshi Minister for Communications Barrister Nazmul Huda formally opened the stone pillar to mark road link in Ramu in front of Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, In September 2005, Burma's military strongman number three General Thura Shwe Mann toured Bangladesh. Finally, Vice-Senior General Maung Aye visited Bangladesh and the survey on the Burma side has begun.
"We have to wait and see whether the road link from Burma side is constructed," said a politician in Maungdaw.
