Japan to aid Yangon with transport improvements

Date: 22/1/2013

The Japanese government is to provide technical and loan assistance to Yangon in Burma, in order to improve transport infrastructure in the city.

A meeting was held at Yangon City Hall in order to discuss the Strategic Plan for Urban Development, to be rolled out across Burma's former capital, which will include public buses and an underground railway system.

The majority of residents in the city use buses in order to travel around, but those currently in service date back to the post-war era, meaning that modernisation is key.

A master plan for Greater Yangon is being drawn up in a collaborative effort between the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Yangon City Development Committee.

Projects laid out in the plan include updating current buses, creating an express bus system and putting more emphasis on road safety programmes.

Further to this an improvement to the infrastructure in the central economic zone is called for in order to boost business, as well as upgrades to services in the downtown area where there is a large population.

Official figures for 2011 show that 318 accidents occurred involving buses in Yangon, leading to 60 deaths and 823 injuries. It is thought that by upgrading buses this number will be brought down.

The report called for the rapid implementation of an underground railway system to provide an essential service to the main areas of the city.

It also stated that a railway system already in place should be upgraded to fulfil the needs of citizens wishing to travel from one place to another as quickly as possible.

U Win Lwin, a member of the Yangon City Public Transport Authority, told the Myanmar Times: "The population in Yangon is six million and the transportation network is not developed enough [for a city of that size]. I want to focus on easing traffic jams and would like to suggest to the public to cooperate with our group."

Posted by Nick Anderson

International Transport News and Sustainable Transport News