Study on evaluation of transport routes between China and Myanmar in the context of Belt and Road Initiative by fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS

Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, Myanmar has become a strategic location and important junction connecting the Indian Ocean with inland provinces in southwest China. However, due to the limited container port capacity and poor infrastructure, the country cannot establish efficient intermodal transportation routes between China and Myanmar. Accordingly, this paper attempts to optimise the selection of intermodal transport routes between Chongqing in China and Yangon in Myanmar by sea route and land route, applying fuzzy AHP and TOPSIS methods. The findings in this paper contribute to not only supporting Sino-Myanmar cross-border logistics enterprises to reduce transportation costs and enhancing collaboration between the two countries, but also helping policymakers, who play a key role in empowering and promoting the development of transport routes, proceed required improvements for the efficiency of intermodal transportation chains.