Tak authorities are planning a rail link between the western Thai town of Tak and Mae Sot, which borders Burma.

Amnart Nanthaharn, the chairman of Tak Province’s Federation of Industries told The Irrawaddy that the project will benefit logistics and trade in the border area, which links Thailand to Burma as part of the East-West Economic Corridor agreement.

Supported primarily by the Asian Development Bank, the East-West Economic Corridor agreement focuses on constructing transport links between Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Burma, which has an Indian Ocean port on the Andaman Sea.

Amnart said, “The project will benefit trade in the area to the tune of about 15 billion baht (US $470 million) per year. In particular, it will support industrial and economic zone projects in Mae Sot in the future.”

He added that the current mode of transport—by truck—to and from Mae Sot by road has restricted weight limits, and the rising price of fuel has made the costs higher.

Tak Province’s Governor Chumporn Polrak will submit the plan, which will be open to private investment, to the Thai National Economic and Social Advisory Council.

He said feasibility studies had been carried out and found that an investment of 30 billion baht ($940 million) was needed.

The plan includes construction of a 29-kilometer (18-mile) tunnel through mountains, which will shorten the distance from Tak to Mae Sot from the current 88 kilometers (55 miles) by road to 70 kilometers (44 miles) by rail.

“In addition, this will be a new route for tourism,” Chumporn said, according to a report in Thai news Web site Manager on Thursday.

In addition, it would support transportation of ethanol and oil shale which currently found in Mae Sot, he said.

He added that the Chinese government would be invited to invest.

According to the engineering plan, the railway line will start near Lum Nam Ping College, near Tak, and cross the mountainous area of Taksin National Park. The tracks will end at Tha Sai Luod Village in Mae Sot District, close to the Moei River, which separates Thailand and Burma.

Mae Sot is expected to expand as a new industrial zone supported by border trade and, at the same time, reduce the number of Burmese migrant workers entering Thailand illegally.

Since 2006, the Burmese government has been promoting Myawaddy Township in Karen State, opposite Mae Sot, as an industrial zone.