By Bernama,
Dhaka : The work on the proposed Bangladesh-Myanmar direct road link is expected to start next year as Dhaka has began the process to carryout the feasibility study for the project, aiming to boost trade links with the military-ruled nation.
A senior Communications Ministry official said the construction work of the 25-km long road is expected to begin by the middle of the next year.
The communications ministry has already started the process of selecting a consulting firm for conducting the feasibility study and making the cost estimation of the project.
Dhaka and Yangon last year signed an agreement for the construction of the highway connecting Bangladesh with its nearest South East Asian neighbour.
“We hope to start the construction works in nine months to one year,” the Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted the official as saying in a local daily.
Officials earlier said the road link would usher a new era in Dhaka-Yangon ties and pave the way for Bangladesh to subsequently linkup with the Asian Highway through Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and also Kunming province of China.
They said China was interested to use south-eastern Chittagong Port to carry products from Bangladesh to its territory by road and therefore a tri-nation Bangladesh- Myanmar-China road link could be established in future.
Myanmar is Bangladesh’s third largest export destination for pharmaceutical products, the officials said, adding the country exported pharmaceutical products worth US$1.7 million in 2005-06 against US$1.4 million in 2004-05 to Myanmar.