A construction company owned by Myanmar junta boss Min Aung Hlaing’s son is among those that will rebuild Naypyitaw after Min Aung Hlaing ordered the reconstruction of the country’s quake-devastated administrative capital, sources familiar with the matter said.
Founded in 2002, the capital was the second-hardest hit city after Mandalay when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Upper Myanmar on March 28. The overall death toll has risen to over 3,600 so far.
In Naypyitaw, the Presidential Residence, the Parliament complex, the War Office and other military related buildings, ministries and government staff housing were among the structures to be badly hit.
The Irrawaddy has learned that after witnessing the devastation first hand during post-quake inspection tours of the capital, Min Aung Hlaing ordered that the construction companies involved in building Naypyitaw in the early 2000s must rebuild the affected structures.
Min Aung Hlaing was furious about the scale of the damage to the Parliament complex, questioning the quality of the construction work, the sources said.
Cronies who operate the Htoo Group of Companies, Eden Group of Companies, Asia World Company, Max Myanmar Construction and ACE Group of Companies, among others, won construction tenders to build Naypyitaw in 2002.
Min Aung Hlaing’s order to rebuild the damaged structures in the capital has sparked a construction rush among developers, sources told The Irrawaddy. The nature of the agreements between the regime and the firms that will carry out the reconstruction is not yet clear.
“Currently, the talk among developers is of ‘Naypyitaw Mark II,’” a developer said.
Sources said a company owned by Min Aung Hlaing’s son Aung Pyae Sone would rebuild damaged military structures under the guise of “general engineering” (GE) work. In Myanmar military parlance, GE officially refers to the work of military engineering units responsible for construction, fortifications, logistics infrastructure, and other engineering support for combat and non-combat operations.
Aung Pyae Sone is also the director of Sky One Construction Co. Ltd, which has been sanctioned by the UK since 2022. It’s not clear whether the Naypyitaw reconstruction work would be carried out under Sky One Construction, as he has many other companies.
Sky One won contracts to build a new ward at the military hospital in Yangon’s Mingaladon Township, a media center for the regime’s mouthpiece Myawaddy TV in the compound of the military records office, and the private Moe Kaung Treasure Maternal and Child Hospital, which is owned by Min Aung Hlaing’s family and is also inside the military records office compound.
The company has also won contracts to expand the Cocogyun and Hmawbi military air bases in Yangon Region.
It remains to be seen how the regime will fund the Naypyitaw reconstruction projects, as it has been struggling with a lack of hard currency and worsening economic conditions since its 2021 coup.
Since the quake, international donors have pledged over US$170 million in humanitarian aid to Myanmar.
On Thursday, the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), or China Aid, announced that it would provide an additional 1 billion yuan ($136.7 million) in assistance, including funds for the post-quake recovery effort. Right after the quake, Beijing announced 100 million yuan in humanitarian aid for Myanmar.
