Dala Bridge expected to be completed in 2021
31 Dec 18 - Source: Myanmar Times - Construction of the Dala Bridge, also known as the Myanmar – Korea Friendship Bridge, that will connect Yangon City and Dala Township, has finally been given the green light, according to the Ministry of Construction and the Yangon Regional Government.
The Ministry of Construction held the ground-breaking ceremony for the bridge last week. State Counsellor Daw Aung San Su Kyi and Mr Kim Hyun Chul, the chair of Presidential Committee on New Southern Policy of South Korea, attended the ceremony.
Construction of the bridge will now commence following a delay of six years.
Originally announced in May 2012, after former president U Thein Sein visited South Korea, the project was stalled in 2013. In 2015, parliament approved the construction of the bridge. Construction of the bridge was expected to start in 2017, but work on the bridge project again faced delays because of disagreements between the Ministry of Construction and Myanma Port Authority under the Ministry of Transport and Communications about the project's measurements.
Later, the Ministry of Construction modified the design of the bridge to overcome disagreements about measurements.
The bridge is expected to be completed in 2021.
Once completed, the bridge will ease travel between Yangon City and Dala, Twante and Kawhmu townships and also reduce traffic congestion in Yangon City. The bridge will also connect Dala Township to more urban development, a Ministry of Construction official, said,
The 1867 metre bridge will feature a cable-stay design and a four-lane roadwayThe type of bridge is cable stayed bridge and it is 1867 meter in length and four lanes. The bridge, expected to cost US$168 million (K257 billion), is being funded by a US$137.833 million loan from the South Korea Economic Development Cooperation Fund and US$30.3 million from the government of Myanmar.
In July, the Yangon Regiona; Government signed an agreement with Myanmar Wooree Co, the local arm of South Korean construction and engineering company, to establish an industrial project located near the Dala Bridge.
South Korean investors are interested in investing in Dala Township, according to Dala Township MP U Tun Yin.
The Dala Bridge project is one of the collaborations between the Ministry of Construction and South Korea. Another project is the Korea – Myanmar Industrial Complex Project located in Nyaung Na Pin, Hmawbi Township in Yangon.
