Bowdikam bridge soon to open on Taninthayi-Mawtaung Road

The construction of the Bowdikam bridge on the Taninthayi-Mawtaung Road, Taninthayi Township in Myeik District of Taninthayi Region that has been carried out by Bridge Construction Task Force (4) of the Department of Bridge with the Ministry of Construction completed, and it will open soon for locals.
The bridge is located on the Taninthayi-Mawtaung Road across the Ngawun River. The motorway is 24 feet (7.914 metres) wide and 787 feet long, the clearance is 66 feet (20 metres) wide and seven feet (two metres) high. Its maximum load capacity is 75 tonnes with the project cost being at K3,400 million.
As a commercial benefit, the Bowdikam Bridge is situated on the Taninthayi-Tungkha-Thephyu-Mawtaung road and there will be no requirement to pass through the Thaephyu-Tungkha-Taninthayi road when travelling from Mawtaung, the Thai-Myanmar border city, to Taninthayi. Road users can go directly from Thaephyu to Taninthayi.
In addition, the local products of nine villages, five village-tracts between Taninthayi and Thaephyu and villages on the east bank of the Taninthayi River will be transported easier and the Myanmar-Thailand border trade will be more developed.
As the bridge is also located on the main trade route of the Myanmar-Thailand border it will enhance the border trade and help locals develop the socio-economy, health and education sectors.
Currently, people and vehicles are passing through the Ngawun River from Taninthayi to Bowdikam by boats and ferries in order to use the Taninthayi-Mawtaung road. Instead, the bridge can ensure faster and safer crossings.
In addition, the location of Taninthayi is a narrow city. The city area will be more expanded to Bowdikam due to the completion of the bridge. — Khayan Soe Myint/GNLM