Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A Sino-Burmese border trade zone was reopened on August 1, after being closed for seven long years.

The Northern Command Commander Maj. Gen. Soe Win attended the opening ceremony held in Kan Pai Ti village, Sadone Township under the control of one of the ceasefire groups, the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K).

“Government officials, including those from the Immigration Department arrived. This border trade zone was first opened in 2002, but the road was not good at that time. So operations in this border trade zone had to be suspended. It has been reopened now,” NDA-K Chairman Sakhon Tin Yin told Mizzima.

Government officials and staff members from the Immigration Department, Forest, Border Trade Department and the police among others began arriving since August 1.

There are four border trade zones along the Sino-Burma border namely Muse 105-mile, Kan Pai Ti, Lai Za and Lwe Je. Among them, the Muse 105-mile records the biggest flow of goods.

This border trade zone was reopened after the NDA-K accepted the junta’s proposal of transforming its army to a Border Guard Force.

But a local from Kan Pai Ti said that trade in the region is on the decline.

Myitkyina-Kan Pai Ti Road was built in 2004 and the 168-km Myitkyina-Teng Chong (China) Road was laid in 2005.