Downtown Yangon traffic is about to get a whole lot worse this week thanks to planned road closures and diversions that will accommodate a Hong Kong action film shoot, police have announced.
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The action movie, Line Walker 2, is being produced by legendary Hong Kong production outfit Shaw Pictures International.
While actual shooting doesn’t begin until Thursday, rehearsals are already underway, which you may have noticed if you were anywhere near the eastern stairways of the Shwedagon Pagoda and Yedashe road. Today’s closure should wrap around 1pm.
On Thursday, a section of Maha Bandoola Park road from Anawrahta road and City Star hotel will be inaccessible from 6am to 6pm.
Then, from Friday until next Tuesday, Feb. 26, a section of Sule Pagoda Road between Anawrahta Road and the zebra crossing near Sule Pagoda will be closed every day from 6am to 6pm.
Maha Bandoola Park road and Sule Pagoda road are two of the busiest thoroughfares connected to one of the busiest roundabouts in Yangon’s city center, connecting various pedestrian paths via walkways and serving multiple bus lines.
The same roads have become increasingly more congested over the past couple of months, so the news isn’t being particularly well received by Yangon taxi drivers, according to the ones Coconuts Yangon spoke with about the situation.
U Kyi Nyunt, a taxi driver, said anyone driving should simply avoid areas where road closures were announced altogether.
“When we have a big festival near the Shwedagon, taxi drivers generally avoid the area. We can do the same for this. Of course, I can criticize the decision but this will bring positive attention to Myanmar and bring jobs and exposure to young people here,” he said.
U Tin OO, a taxi driver who routinely works in downtown Yangon, brought a unique perspective to the situation.
“I was a film production assistant in the 1990s and I can speak from experience that artists and directors will do what they need to do without regard for the impact,” he said, before adding: “As a driver, I’m not happy about the road closures.”
The week-long road closures were approved by Yangon Region Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein, according to his Facebook page.
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Attempts by Coconuts Yangon to reach the Yangon Traffic Police office by phone were unsuccessful.
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