Mae Sot District

Gateway to Burma

Mae Sot is the where Asian Highway AH1 links Thailand and Burma. It is one of only three transnational roads and cross-border points across the Tenasserim Hills to Burma, along with Three Pagodas Pass and Phu Nam Ron. The Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge crossing the Moei River was constructed in 1997 completing the link between the two countries. At the entrance of the bridge is the immigration office which is open from 06:00 to 18:00.

As a gateway city, Mae Sot has its own domestic airport. But due to high fuel costs, some airlines such as Phuket Air have cancelled their flights between Bangkok and Mae Sot.

Every year, Tak Chamber of Commerce organizes a friendship bicycle rally to Myawaddy.

Link to India

India's foreign minister met with Myanmar's construction minister in Delhi on the 22 February 2012, and spoke about opening a highway between Moreh, India, and the Myanmar-Thai border near Mae Sot.

Economy

Trade with Burma constitutes the largest portion of Mae Sot's economy. It has an established market for commodities such as wholesale gems and teak. Most of the town's service industries are supported by Burmese migrants who work in sweatshops and factories throughout the region. The Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge is the primary gateway for trade with Burma. The border region, several kilometres west from central Mae Sot, includes the Rim Moei Market that deals in imported goods and woodwork. The town is a hub of black markets in smuggling, people trafficking, and narcotics.

Mae Sot serves as a minor tourist destination, primarily used for those wishing to visit Myawaddy in Burma or as a stopover on the way to Amphoe Umphang, popular for trekking.

Tak Special Economic Zone

In early 2015 the government announced the creation of the Tak Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The SEZ, first proposed in 2004, is projected to occupy a total of 2,182 rai of forest land and public areas in tambon Tha Sai Luat. About 800 rai will be managed by the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand and the rest by the treasury department. The government will create an industrial estate and invite companies to site factories there. Ninety-seven families who occupy land which the government intends to allocate to the SEZ—only a few of whom have land documents—will have to relocate. They are likely to be paid about 7,000-12,000 baht per rai in compensation.

There have been several attempts by previous governments to develop an SEZ in Tak as the province is a centre of border trade with Myanmar, which also connects to the Indian market. Mae Sot contributed 64 billion baht in exports in the 2015 fiscal year, a 14.8 percent increase from 2014. The SEZ will be powered by the proposed Hat Gyi dam on the Salween River which is projected to supply about 1,500 megawatts to Thailand.

Burmese refugees

The town has a substantial population of Burmese refugees and economic migrants. The exact number of Burmese in Mae Sot is unclear, but estimates say that over 100,000 exist in addition to the 106,000 already recorded in the official census. In recent years the ongoing refugee situation has prompted NGOs and international aid agencies to establish programmes in the town and surrounding area.

One of the most notable organizations is the Mae Tao Clinic, just outside the west of town. It was established by the Burmese/Karen Dr Cynthia Maung to offer free medical services to Burmese who do not qualify for treatment at the Mae Sot Hospital. The centre is funded independently and is supported by teams of volunteers.

The Mae Sot region has around 70 migrant schools that started spontaneously to meet the needs of the 30,000 children who have crossed the border with their parents from Burma. The students are a mix of refugees and economic migrants. Of this number only 7,000 currently attend school. The schools range in size from 20 to over 650 students (Hsa Thoo Lei School). These schools receive no support from the Thai government and rely solely on their resourcefulness and international support.

Human rights abuses

Serious human rights abuses have been reported here and in the province, whereby local Thai police collude with local business and mafia in trafficking Burmese slave labour, after decades of massive refugee camps accumulating on the Thai side of the border.

Administration

The district (Amphoe) Mae Sot is subdivided into 10 subdistricts (Tambon), which are further subdivided into 86 villages (muban). The city (thesaban nakhon) Mae Sot covers the whole tambon Mae Sot. Tha Sai Luat and Mae Ku are subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). There are further nine tambon administrative organizations (TAO).

There are plans to create a new province centred in Mae Sot, covering the five border districts of Tak Province. Additionally the town is planned to be converted into a metropolis, covering the tambon Mae Sot, Mae Pa, and Tha Sai Luat.