The junta’s nerve center of Naypyitaw was one of the few places expected to withstand the powerful earthquake that struck central Myanmar on March 28. But shock mounted as images of devastation emerged from the gleaming fortified city built only two decades ago.
The magnitude-7.7 quake tore through staff housing, government office buildings, roads, hospitals, and military facilities in the administrative capital, exposing the corruption and cronyism behind its construction.
About half of the 4,000 staff housing units were destroyed, with the rest left uninhabitable. Among the hundreds killed were large numbers of regime staff and their family members, while injury victims swamped the 1,000-bed Naypyitaw public hospital.
Survivors resorted to building temporary shelters under trees, without electricity and water. Meanwhile, the regime is threatening to sack overwhelmed staff who refuse to return to work.
Only high-ranking military officials and senior officers are insulated from the chaos that has engulfed ordinary workers and civilians. Even providing them with proper shelter before the rainy season has become a challenge.
Dictator’s dream shattered
In countries vulnerable to natural disasters like earthquakes, government buildings are usually designed to withstand seismic activity, as officials and infrastructure are critical for coordinating rescue and relief operations.
However, such strategic planning was not incorporated in Naypyitaw.
Former dictator Than Shwe, who lavished revenue from natural gas to build the new capital, likely did not anticipate that his grand city would be badly damaged within 20 years.
Than Shwe began relocating war office headquarters and administrative offices to Naypyitaw in 2005, amid growing junta paranoia that the old capital, Yangon, was vulnerable to invasion by Western countries.
Construction of military infrastructure in Naypyitaw was overseen by then Quartermaster General, Lieutenant General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo, while civilian buildings were overseen by former colonel Thein Nyunt, who served as Naypyitaw Mayor and President’s Office minister under Than Shwe’s successor, Thein Sein.
Naypyitaw’s construction was led by three entities, the first being the Military Engineering Corps (GE). Special construction battalions under GE built the new capital’s military infrastructure, roads and bridges.
Among the numerous officers who became millionaires through Naypyitaw’s construction was well-known singer Nay Ye Marn, who served as commander of Special Construction Battalion 3 under his real name, Colonel Htay Win.
He oversaw construction of roads and bridges, including the grand entrance bridge to the presidential residence in Naypyitaw.
“When concrete was mixed for roads and buildings, they cut down on the cement,” said an engineer who worked on the Naypyitaw construction project.
“If you used just five fewer cement sacks in each mixing, you could earn a substantial amount.” The resultant structural weaknesses contributed to extensive damage and casualties during the earthquake, he explained.
Htay Win amassed wealth in no time thanks to Naypyitaw construction projects, which funded the release of numerous albums under his stage name. Many of Myanmar’s popular actresses and models have appeared alongside him in his music videos.
Rampant nepotism
Another group involved in Naypyitaw’s construction were the offspring of top military officials. Among the contractors were companies owned by Nandar Aye, daughter of then Deputy Commander-in-Chief Maung Aye, the sons of Lieutenant General Tin Aung Myint Oo and General Thura Shwe Mann, Minister Thein Nyunt’s children (TZTM Co), and Ni Ni Tin Tun, the daughter of Military Engineering Corps Director General Tin Tun, as well as the military-owned Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd (MEHL).
These companies secured contracts not only for military infrastructure but also government offices and staff housing. TZTM, owned by Minister Thein Nyunt’s family, was responsible for constructing markets and government buildings.
MEHL constructed staffing housing in Buu Kwe near the central market (Myoma Zay). Naypyitaw Airport was built by a joint venture between Asia World Co, owned by drug lord Lo Hsing Han, and a company owned by Lieutenant General Tin Aung Myint Oo’s son.
Among civilian enterprises, the major contractors included ACE Construction owned by Minister Tint San; Original Group Construction owned by actor Shar Nyo, son of wealthy tycoon Thar Htay, a 2012 candidate for the military’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party; Asia World; Htoo Group; Max Myanmar; Eden Construction; A-1 Construction; Shwe Taung Construction owned by Aik Htun; and Ayeyar Hinthar Co owned by Zaw Win Shein.
The parliament complex, which sustained damage in the earthquake, was built by ACE Construction. Eden Construction was responsible for the presidential residence, while residences of the vice-presidents and parliament speakers were built by Htoo Group.
The main stadium, used for the 2013 Southeast Asian Games, was among the major structures constructed by Max Myanmar, owned by Zaw Zaw.
According to an engineer involved in Naypyitaw’s construction, Asia World Co was granted contracts to build Naypyitaw Airport and staff housing near the Myanmar International Convention Center (MICC).
Staff apartments were primarily built by Asia World, Htoo Group, ACE Construction, U Thein Nyunt’s company, and Max Myanmar, another engineer said on condition of anonymity.
The construction was rushed with no proper system or quality control in place, he said.
“There was neither proper planning nor quality control. They only demanded speed, and the question was always ‘when will it be finished?’”
Contractors were reportedly paid in cash even before construction began.
Row of Six Mansions still standing
Companies that won construction contracts, along with subcontractors, reaped significant profit margins from Naypyitaw’s development.
However, not all the buildings were jerrybuilt. The infamous Row of Six Mansions in Pobbathiri Township sustained little earthquake damage. The Row of Six is the exclusive neighborhood where former dictator Than Shwe, his deputy Vice Senior General Maung Aye, ex-president General Thein Sein, his ex-vice president General Tin Aung Myint Oo, former house speaker General Thura Shwe Mann, and former Union Election Commission chair Lt-General Tin Aye live in guarded compounds.
Similarly, little damage was reported at Yarza Theingaha Housing Complexes 1 and 2, which are reserved for lieutenant-generals.
Heavy casualties and destruction were mostly confined to staff apartments, offices, roads and healthcare facilities.
Despite the huge resources spent on its construction, Naypyitaw, the symbolic capital of military rule, has crumbled within two decades. Revenues from natural gas – used to build the city – have been reduced to rubble and dust.
Restoring Naypyitaw to its original state will require a massive injection of time and investment. For now, the regime’s fortress is visibly falling apart.
This story was updated on April 19, 2025, to correct the year in which Than Shwe began relocating the War Office headquarters and administrative offices to Naypyitaw.
