The authorities have drafted a plan to improve the city’s public transport efficiency with the help of Japanese aid by establishing a traffic control centre, according to the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC).
According to the plan, 50 computerised traffic signals are to be installed at 13 key intersections that see traffic congestion on a regular basis such as Tamwe and Mayangone with the help of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Yangon Mayor U Hla Myint told a workshop on public transport facilitation.
Traffic gridlocks are becoming a major challenge for Myanmar’s commercial hub, where its “car population is competing against the resident population,” he said.
With an influx of imported cars in Yangon and insufficient parking areas in downtown, traffic jams are getting worse, he added.
The workshop also suggested for transforming private bus-lines into a public company.
According to official figures, the number of vehicles in Yangon has reached 600,000 units, accounting for 66.5 percent of the total in the whole country.
The plan also includes construction of elevated roads, a new river-crossing bridge, flyovers at intersections on the outer ring road and establishment of toll plazas on the inner and outer ring roads.
Over the past three years, Myanmar has built three overpasses in Yangon and two more such bridges are under construction.
