The East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC)
An overland route from Da Nang Port in Viet Nam, through Lao PDR, Thailand, and to the Mawlamyine Port in Myanmar. It is approximately a 1,450 kilometer route that intersects the North-South Economic Corridor at the provinces of Tak and Phitsanulok in Thailand.
When the undeveloped or missing sections are in place, it will be the only direct, continuous land route between the Indian Ocean (Andaman Sea) and the South China Sea.
The EWEC will link the following points:
* Mawlamyine-Myawaddy in Myanmar;
* Mae Sot-Phitsanulok-Khon Kaen-Kalasin-Mukdahan in Thailand;
* Savannakhet-Dansavanh in Lao PDR; and
* Lao Bao-Hue-Dong Ha-Da Nang in Viet Nam
The EWEC, running through 13 provinces of Viet Nam , Laos , Thailand and Myanmar , is one of the five economic corridors in the Greater Sub-Mekong Region (GMS). The project was endorsed at the eighth GMS Ministerial Meeting in October 1998.
Finance is being provided by the Asian Development Bank and the Japanese Government, major transport infrastructure facilities lying along the corridor were upgraded, including the Tien Sa and Da Nang ports, Hai Van tunnel and highway 9 of Viet Nam .
Late in 2006, the second international bridge spanning the Mekong river was open to traffic, linking Thailand 's seven northeast provinces, Laos ' Savannakhet province and Viet Nam 's three central provinces told.
When completed, the on-land corridor that connects the Pacific ocean and the Indian ocean will pave the way for millions of people in Viet Nam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar to rise from poverty and that as a result development disparity in the region will narrow and the linkage between the EWEC region and other regions in Southeast Asia and in the world will be strengthened.
Besides, the project has enabled participating countries to better tap their natural resources and potentials and expand their market.
In the future, the project will play a crucial role in helping the four countries expand their external economic ties, promote trade, investment and tourism, and attract more foreign investment into the area.
EWEC should become the corridor of cooperation, friendship and mutual development of countries in the region.
The EWEC runs through Viet Nam 's Da Nang city and Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri provinces, Laos ' Savannakhet province, Thailand 's Mae Sot, Tak, Phitsalulok, Khon Kaen, Kalasin, Kuchinarai and Mukdahan provinces, and Myanmar 's Mawlamyine and Myawaddy provinces and connects the Indian Ocean with the Pacific Ocean in a total length of 1,450km.
