Yangon Govt Submits Plans for New Port, Industrial Zones

By The Irrawaddy 5 June 2018

YANGON — The Yangon Region government is seeking approval for 11 new industrial zones on the city’s outskirts and a new multipurpose port terminal near the mouth of the Yangon River to promote regional development, create jobs and attract foreign investment.

Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein first revealed plans for the new industrial zones last month on the sidelines of the Yangon Investment Forum 2018 as a way to address unequal development across the region.

On Tuesday, Yangon Mayor U Maung Maung Soe submitted a report to the regional Parliament about the proposed zones, slated for the southern and northern fringes of the city. The proposed zones in Kun Chan Kone, Kawhmu, Twantay, Thanlyin, Kyauktan, Khayan, Thonegya, Taikgyi, Hmawbi, Hlegu and Htan Tabin townships are to be built on land ranging in size from 750 to 1,871 acre.

It is not clear whether the proposed zones are part of the New Yangon City project, as some of the townships listed to host some of them are in the project area.

“After Parliament’s green light, the projects will be submitted to the Union government for further approval,” the mayor said in Parliament.

Also on Tuesday, the regional government submitted plans for a 1,053-acre multipurpose terminal with a 2.2 km waterfront in Kawhmu Township, in southern Yangon Region. The new terminal would be used for export and import as the draught of the river in the area was nine meters, deeper than at the nearby Thilawa port.

The new port would also have a liquid bulk terminal for storing oil imports.

In April U Phyo Min Thein said Yangon needed ports closer to the sea — which lies some 90 km from the city — because the existing ones can no longer serve the larger ships now in use.

Parliament has invited lawmakers to discuss the proposals, but a date for the debate has yet to be set.