The first of three new flyovers planned for Yangon is set to open February 12 but, ahead of the ceremony, officials have admitted overpasses are not the perfect solution to the city’s mounting congestion.
The Kokkine flyover on Kabar Aye Pagoda Road has been built simultaneously with two others at 8 Mile and Tamwe, blocking roads and infuriating commuters.
And it turns out the authorities don’t even think they’re going to solve the traffic crisis.
Kyaw Soe, Yangon Region minister for forestry and energy, told the Myanmar Times: “A true solution would involve building multi-level flyovers above the traffic, to do away with traffic lights and with traffic jams.
“Simple flyovers can only meet with so much success.”
So why not go for the “true solution”?
Apparently it costs almost as much to build a multi-layered flyover as the entire annual budget of the Yangon Region government, according to Kyaw Soe.
“The cost of building a multi-layered flyover is around the same as the entire annual budget for the Yangon Region government,” said Kyaw Soe.
“If we use the whole budget for flyovers, we wouldn’t have enough left to spend on other sectors,” he said.
