Myanmar junta struggles with fuel supplies

13 March 2022
Myanmar junta struggles with fuel supplies
Fuel tanker. Photo: Flickr

The Myanmar police force looks set to escort a convoy of fuel delivered from Thailand entering through the Myawaddy border crossing, reports DVB.

Myanmar is facing a growing fuel crisis and is looking to its neighbours for help.

On Friday, a document emerged purporting to show a request from the junta’s Ministry of Home Affairs that police forces escort a convoy ferrying fuel delivered from Thailand via the Myawaddy border crossing, the report says.

At the same time, Myanmar-owned commercial airlines have announced that they are to add fuel surcharges to the price of tickets to compensate for rising costs, whilst the Myanmar Container Truck Association (MCTA) has announced that fuel fees will be added to freight cost from 14 March to compensate truck drivers.

Uncertainty surrounds a convoy that is alleged to have crossed into Sagaing from India last week, as unverified sources on social media claim to show that the 100 or so trucks were carrying asphalt to be used in the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project linking Paletwa in Chin State to Zonipuri in the Indian state of Mizoram, rather than fuel.