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SURF THE AEC
SURF THE AEC
NorthbounD to

India

In one year time, we will be
able to drive through Mae Sot
all the way to India in just half
a day, on the brand new India-
Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral
Highway. Apart from being the
newest road-trip destination, this
new highway is the new channel
through which Thai goods can
access Indian and Chinese
markets where almost half the
world’s populations reside.

Presently, this very route has already
been frequented by caravans of cargo
to Mandalay and India, but due to the
dilapidated condition of roads from lack of
maintenance, trips are very time-consuming.
Thai goods are very popular in Myanmar;
with roughly 70-80 percent of goods in
department stores coming from Thailand,
and also in the northeastern part of India,
Thai goods are no less popular than goods
from China.
The IMT Trilateral Highway is 1,400
kilometer long, connecting Mae sot, Yangon,
Naypyidaw, Mandalay, Tamu (Myanmar), and
Moreh (India). This long stretch of road is
now being repaired and reconditioned under
the joint efforts of Thailand, Myanmar, and
India, with helps from the Indian and Thai
government and the Asian Development Bank
(ADB). India has taken on the reconditioning
of roads and 75 bridges from the Indian
borders to Mandalay. The modification
project of the Mandalay- Naypyidaw-Yangon
highway was completed by the Myanmar
government, upgrading into a 563-kilometer
long, 20-lane express way, ready to fully be
a gateway into China and India. Thailand
volunteered a support on the 45 kilometer
route between the Thai-Myanmar Friendship
Bridge and Mae Sot-Myawaddy-foot of
Tenasserim Hills-Kawkareik, currently
operational and open for public use. This
route has facilitated up to THB 70-80 billion

JUL 2018 FOOD FOCUS THAILAND 57