YANGON, May 10 (Xinhua) -- A ground survey is underway to continue to build another section of the Asian highway in Myanmar to stretch from Thingan Nyinaung to Kawkareik in southeastern Kayin state, the local Yangon Times reported Thursday.

    A prior section which extends from Myawaddy to Thingan Nyinaungin the state was completed with the assistance of Thailand last year.

    Connecting Thailand's Maesot, the Asian highway Myanmar section stretches as Myawaddy-Thingan Nyinaung-Kawkareik-Mawlamyine with a total length of about 1,400 kilometers (km).

    The present 40-km Thingan Nyinaung-Kawkareik section will be built also by Thailand through the low-lying areas of the Dawna mountain range after the 18-km prior section of Myawaddy-Thingan Nyinaung, the report said.

    Once the remaining 1,360-km section from Kawkareik to Mawlamyine, where a planned deep-sea port locates, is further built, it will provide a link to Europe through Asia's China, India and Thailand.

    The Myanmar section of roads are based on the existing ones and be upgraded to two to four lanes from single one and be durable to withstand 60 tons of load to meet the set standard according to an inter-governmental agreement to build the Asian highway signed in Shanghai, China, in April 2004 between 26 out of 32 member countries of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

    The Asian highway constitutes a network of 140,000 km of roads criss crossing the continent and linking up to Europe. The network, which will signify promotion of regional integration and cooperation, is expected to be completed by 2010.

    The highway plan was initiated by ESCAP in 1959 and revised at a meeting of 32 countries held in Bangkok in 2003.

    Meanwhile, the Asian highway sections also play an important role in connecting the East-West Economic Corridor Highway covered by the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)- Economic Cooperation Program.

    The East-West economic corridor under the GMS program, links the South China Sea to the Bay of Bengal, that is from Vietnam's Danang Port in the East to Myanmar's Mawlamyine in the West. The Mawlamyine-Danang land route will take only 1,000 km whereas the sea route which passes through the Malacca Straits takes 4,000 km.

    The deep seaport project at Mawlamyine in Myanmar's southern Mon state, which will contribute to the development of the East-West corridor in terms of regional cross-border transportation and trade, has been underway.

    On completion of the project, Myanmar will become a key seaport in the GMS region and will benefit from being lying in the corridor.

    The development of the East-West economic corridor constitutes part of the strategic program for the current decade starting 2002 of the six GMS countries -- Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

    The GMS economic cooperation program was initiated by the Asian Development Bank in 1992.

    Observers noted that Myanmar has been placing emphasis on road construction not only for the development of its economy but also for development of trade and economic cooperation with other countries.