Burmese official attends Irrawaddy

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Subject: Burmese official attends Irrawaddy River bridge opening 

BBC Monitoring South Asia 
November 16, 1999, Tuesday 

 Burmese official attends Irrawaddy River bridge opening 

SOURCE: Radio Myanmar, Rangoon, in Burmese 1330 gmt 15 Nov 99 


Excerpts from report by Burmese radio on 15th November A ceremony to
commission Bo Myat Tun
Bridge, which links the eastern and western banks of the Irrawaddy River,
was held in Nyaungdon at
0715 this morning. The opening ceremony was attended by Sr Gen Than Shwe,
chairman of the State
Peace and Development Council SPDC and commander in chief of the Defence
Services, and other
officials... 

Lt-Gen Tin Oo, SPDC secretary-2 and chairman of the Central Committee for
Ensuring Smooth and
Secure Transportation, delivered an address at the ceremony, explaining the
significance of today's
commissioning of the bridge for Irrawaddy Division, Rakhine State, and
Yangon Rangoon Division... 

He said the bridge has the total length of 8,544 feet, including the
6,164-foot long main section of the
bridge. He said the bridge was constructed within the period of over 3
years... 

He praised the role played by the engineers from the Public Construction
Department in the construction
of the bridge. He said four bridges had already been built over the
Irrawaddy River and that another
bridge - Anawrahta Bridge - would be open soon... 

He said under the plan, three more bridges would be constructed across the
Irrawaddy River. He said
skilled Myanmar engineers had constructed large bridges over Irrawaddy,
Chindwin, and Salween
Rivers with the internal resources without any foreign assistance. He said
the Myanmar experts have
demonstrated their skills to the world. He said our Myanmar people, who do
not have to depend on
foreign assistance and aid for their survival, have demonstrated their
ability to construct and safeguard
their own country. He said these bridges would facilitate transportation
from one region to another and
lead to frequent contacts and closer relations among the fraternal national
races. He said the bridges
could metaphorically be called the national unity bridges... 

He said the network of bridges that has emerged in Irrawaddy Division
illustrates the outcome of
cooperation and coordinatioin between the government and the people. He
said the national
construction and regional development tasks undertaken by the government
since it assumed state
powers have brought about nationwide progress being witnessed by the people
 . He explained that the
unity, discipline, diligence, and goodwill of the indigenous people are
determining factors for progress
and the ability of the country to remain as a modern Union till the end of
time. Respect and faith in the
creativity of the people will give full guarantee for the country's future
 . He said reliance on foreign
countries will lead to loss of one's own ability to think and can lead to
the country being subservient to
other countries. Therefore, he called on the people to have patriotism,
cherish the Union, work hard,
and protect the national interests... 

He said under the able leadership of SPDC Chairman Sr Gen Than Shwe,
unprecedented level of peace
and tranquillity prevails throughout the country and the Union is now on
the right path of development.
When these factors are added to the people's unity, productivity, and
discipline, a peaceful, modern,
and democratic state aspired by the people will emerge in a short time...
Next, SPDC Chairman Sr.
Gen. Than Shwe spoke, noting the people of Irrawaddy Division rejoicing at
the completion of Bo Myat
Tun Bridge. He explained the need to build more roads, bridges, mills and
factories, schools, and
hospitals... To do so, he said, the country must be strong economically and
everyone must work hard.
He called on all concerned to properly maintain the bridge so that it would
last long... 


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