YANGON — The Myanmar government has revealed four “mega development projects” with facilities ranging from information technology manufacturing to logistics to commercial and residential on more than 13,000 acres of land in the country’s commercial capital Yangon and near Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city.
The four Union-level projects, some of them now in the initial phase, are being developed by the Department of Urban and Housing Development (DUHD) under the Ministry of Construction with local and international investment. Three are on the outskirts of Yangon and the other is in Pyin Oo Lwin Township of Mandalay Region, according to a statement made by the ministry this week.
The largest of the four is New Mandalar Resort City in Mandalay Region in upper Myanmar. The three-phase project stretches over nearly 9,893 acres beside the Mandalay-Muse Highway in Pyin Oo Lwin. According to the master plan of the project, the New Mandalar Resort City will have facilities ranging from information technology related manufacturing to agricultural and logistical industrial zones, as well as residential and mix-used development zones.
The deputy director general of the Urban and Regional Development Division of the DUHD told The Irrawaddy that six master developers have been initially selected via expression of interest.
“But the master developer hasn’t been finalized yet,” Daw Aye Aye Myint said.
The other three projects in Yangon Region are the Korea Myanmar Industrial Complex and Eco Green City in Hlegu Township and the Smart District Project in Dagon Seikkan Township near the Bago River.
The Korea Myanmar Industrial Complex is located near Nyaung Hna Pin village, the venue where the previous military regime held the National Convention in 2007, with a series of discussions from 1993 to 2006 to draft the now controversial 2008 Constitution. The project area is around 555 acres and it is a joint venture between Korea Land and Housing Cooperation (60 percent) and the DUHD of the Ministry of Construction in Myanmar (40 percent). The US$110 million project includes small and medium enterprises, heavy industry and a vocational school among other things and is slated to be finished in 2023.
According to Daw Aye Aye Myint, the details of the project are to be submitted to the Myanmar Investment Commission for approval.
“Upon approval, the government has to take care of basic infrastructure. Currently, we haven’t started any groundwork yet,” she said.
Another project in the same township is Eco Green City, which was officially launched in December last year with the presence of the then Construction Minister U Win Khaing and Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein as well as local partners from the Alliance Group of Companies. The 10-year project with an investment of nearly US$2 billion will cover 1,453 acres near the slated new Hanthawaddy International Airport. Its design includes housing, a logistics hub, mixed-use zones and more, according to the ministry’s announcement. The deputy director general told The Irrawaddy that around 200 acres of the total project area are supposed to be utilized for the government’s low cost and affordable housing schemes.
With 1,100 acres of land to be developed in partnership with local Shwe Taung Company, Smart District or Ayarwun-Yadanar Smart District in Dagon Seikkan Township near Bago River in Yangon, is the third largest of the government’s four mega projects. The US$185 million investment project, that is now currently working on building infrastructure in the area, will use more than 60 percent of the total project area for housing including low cost, private, and residential with commercial use.
