The project will involve construction of a new 62-kilometer (km) arterial highway with access control extending the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) East West Economic Corridor (EWEC) from Bago in Bago Region to Kyaik Hto in Mon State. It includes a new 2.3-km bridge across the Sittaung River proposed to be financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This 4-lane asphalt concrete highway with 3.5-meter wide carriageway, 2.5-meter wide median and 2.5-meter wide shoulder each side will provide easier access to Thilawa Special Economic Zone near Yangon.

The GMS road corridors are the backbone of Myanmar transport system. The EWEC connects Thailand with Yangon and its special economic zone of Thilawa, and then onwards to Pathein, the capital of the Ayeyarwaddy delta. Improvements to the EWEC corridor will reduce national transport costs and improve regional connectivity with Thailand, and onwards to the GMS region. While the Thailand, Laos PDR and Vietnam sections of the corridor have been completed to high standards and border facilities improved, the GMS EWEC road corridor in Myanmar has only two lanes, with pavement in fair to poor condition and road safety features generally missing. Moreover, the Myanmar segment of the GMS EWEC has long alignment, crosses urban areas, and has low standards making it unsafe for speed higher than 40-60 kilometers per hour.

The proposed project will have three major outputs:

1. new Bago-Kyaikto Expressway;

2. enhanced capacity of Ministry of Construction (MOC) staff on expressway management; and

3. improved road safety for the Bago-Kyaikto Corridor.