Authorities extended the operating hours at a Thai-Myanmar checkpoint in Mae Sot district on Thursday in preparation for the formation of Asean single market this year.
The checkpoint, which links the district in Tak province and Myawaddy town in Myanmar, opens at 5.30am and closed at 8.30pm starting Thursday, said Pol Col Pongnakhon Nakhonsantiphab, commander of the Immigration Bureau in the western province.
The checkpoint opened from 6.30am to 6.30pm last year but officials of the two countries agreed for longer hours to facilitate border crossings.
Thai and Myanmar officials held talks on Wednesday to prepare for the new service hours which, they said, will benefit the two countries as the Asean Community will be launched in late December this year and Mae Sot will become a special economic zone.
The Mae Sot checkpoint is a key border post for exports and imports between Thailand and Yangon, the business city of Myanmar.