The opening ceremony of Bago River Crossing Bridge (No. 3 Thanlyin Bridge) connecting Thaketa Township and Thanlyin Town of Yangon Region was held on the morning of June 8.
The ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the State Administration Council (SAC), the Prime Minister, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the joint secretary of the Council, Lt. General Ye Win Oo, Council member General Tin Aung San, Lieutenant General Nyo Saw, Mann Nyein Maung, Khun San Lwin, Union Ministers, Yangon Region Chief Minister, Senior military officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defence, Commander of Yangon Command, officials from the Ministry of Construction, officials from Nippon Koei, a Japanese bridge construction engineering group and officials from the government departments.
The four-lane 8,638-foot-long bridge, which connects Yangon Region's Thaketa Township and Thanlyin Town, was implemented with a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Unlike other bridge designs, it is a cable stayed bridge to make it a landmark of Yangon, added the SAC Chairman in his speech.
A loan agreement was signed in 2017 in order to build the bridge and the construction started in 2019. In 2021, due to political conditions, bridge construction works and the loan issues have stalled and they have been able to rebuild it after repeated negotiations. Due to the need for the use of funds, the state contributed more than 46 billion kyats to complete the construction of the bridge, he said.
The new four-lane bridge has been opened, so it will be able to solve the traffic jams occurring on No. 1 Thanlyin Bridge. In addition, due to the growth of local and foreign businesses and Thilawa Special Economic Zone, the socio-economic life of the people in the Thanlyin, Kyauktan, Kayan and Thongwa townships will improve. In the future, using the East-West Economic Corridor Road, it will be possible to travel from Hpa-an to Myawady, which will not only benefit the development of Mon State and Kayin State, but will further develop communication with regional countries, said the SAC Chairman.
According to the agreement between the JICA, the Ministry of Planning and Finance, the Ministry of Construction and the relevant ministries on the implementation of the project, since 2013, the project has been carried out step by step according to the level of work. As a long bridge, the river crossing section has 6,663 feet in length and overpass section has 1,975 feet in length, totaling 8,638 feet in length. It has 75 feet in width.
It is a four-lane bridge with a five-foot safe zone on each side. The clear height of the bridge is 43 feet and the clear width is 735 feet. It is a cable stayed bridge, steel box and PC box type, and the carrying capacity of the bridge is 75 tonnes per vehicle.
