Despite opposition from the Social Democratic Party and New Party Sakigake, official development assistance to Myanmar is to be resumed soon, policy chiefs of the SDP and Sakigake said Friday.

Japan has frozen extensions of loans to Myanmar since August 1988, following a military crackdown on prodemocracy movements.

Under the plan, a 2.5 billion yen loan will be extended to Myanmar to help repair a runway for commercial use at Yangon's international airport. The two parties have opposed the plan, saying that little improvement has been observed in the country's democratization.

The Foreign Ministry decided late last month that the loan will be made to help preparation of the country's infrastructure necessary for economic development, which the ministry says will become the foundation of democratization. The two parties became aware of the ministry's decision to resume providing aid to the nation only after reading newspaper reports.

"We should keep watching to see if the aid will be used only to reconstruct the airport," said Seiichi Mizuno, policy chief of Sakigake.