2 border crossings miss reopening date

Border checkpoints in Nakhon Phanom in the Northeast and Tak in the West have yet to resume operations due to unsigned paperwork and the unresolved situation in Myanmar.

As of Sunday, land border checkpoints in 17 provinces including Nakhon Phanom and Tak were to begin processing fully vaccinated travellers as part of the country’s reopening.

However, two permanent checkpoints in Nakhon Phanom cannot reopen due to the late return of necessary documents from Khammouane province in Laos.

The paperwork is expected to clear and the checkpoints reopen later in the week, according to local sources.

Residents and business operators have welcomed the reopening of the border as they hope it will boost the local economy after having been closed for more than two years due to the pandemic.

Anuphap Saenkham, vice president of the province’s industries association, said the permanent checkpoints are gateways to Laos, Vietnam and China and used to transport cargo.

He said the local economy will pick up faster if border passes in four districts of Ban Phaeng, Tha Uthen, That Phanom and Muang reopen to facilitate the transport of goods by smallscale operators.

The association wants talks with Lao authorities to discuss reopening these checkpoints too, he said.

Meanwhile, in Tak, the border checkpoint at the first Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Mae Sot district is slated to reopen on Thursday depending on the situation in Myanmar.

The 15 other provinces where permanent land border checkpoints have reopened are Loei, Nong Khai, Mukdahan, Bueng Kan, Si Sa Ket, Surin, Sa Kaeo, Chanthaburi, Trat, Kanchanaburi, Ranong, Songkhla, Narathiwat, Yala, and Satun.