The Government of Japan, under its Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) Scheme, has granted US $167,754 for

1) The Project for Construction of Agricultural Produce Transport Road between Saung Kan and Saw Khee Daw Village in Loikaw Township, Kayah State.

The handover ceremony of a road for the above project took place in Loikaw Township, Kayah State on 17 December 2018. Ms. Tomoko YOSHIHIRO, Counsellor of the Embassy of Japan, U Boss Ko, Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation of Kayah State Government, committee chairperson, committee members of the construction project, and local residents attended the ceremony.

As the previous agricultural road was not paved and became muddy during the rainy season, people in Saung Kan Village and Saw Khee Daw Village had been struggling in transporting their agricultural products, transferring patients to the nearest hospital in Loikaw and sending students to high school. In order to tackle this issue, the Government of Japan supported the construction of a 4.7 kilometer-long road with five box culverts to connect the roads. The project benefits 13,233 local residents in both villages.

The Government of Japan has assisted 883 grass-roots projects in Myanmar under the GGP scheme since 1993, including 453 education projects, 200 healthcare projects, 140 public welfare and environment projects, 55 infrastructure projects and 35 other projects. It is expected that this assistance will further strengthen the existing friendly relations between Japan and Myanmar.