Thai PM visits border crossings in Thai North

BANGKOK, February 13 (TNA) - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is visiting the Thai North from February 13-14, during which she will inspect the second border crossing in Mae Sai district and the development of the Chiang Khong Port, as well as a road and a bridge to Laos, all in Chiang Rai province, as part of national preparations for the ASEAN Community, scheduled to be formed by 2015. Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan, who is accompanying the prime minister during her ongoing northern trip, told journalists on Wednesday that a small number of vehicles have used the second border pass in Mae Sai so far, as big trucks from China cannot enter Myanmar; so, cargoes from China to Mai Sai, through Myanmar, are to be reloaded onto small trucks. Charupong said that Thai authorities are aware of the problem between Myanmar and China and they are trying to work out measures to promote the use of the new border crossing in Mae Sai. In Chiang Khong, the interior minister revealed, the prime minister will inspect the Chiang Khong Port, opened since April 2012, where she will be briefed on problems and obstacles, and will then follow up the construction of a road and a Thai-Lao bridge, set to be complete in June and July 2013 respectively. According to the interior minister, a new border crossing will be opened in Chiang Khong, but the Thai government has not yet decided whether a cargo distribution facility should be constructed in both Mae Sai and Chiang Khong districts or in either of them. (TNA)