Thai-Myanmar deep sea port under construction

A deep sea port stretching over 250 square kilometers located in Dawei, Southern Myanmar, that will become the gateway to Indo-China and potentially the world biggest industrial estate.

This is how Ital -Thai, the engineering giant describes the model construction of the 8 billion US dollar project comprising deep-water harbor facilities, an oil refinery and an industrial estate, which the Thai engineering giant will overlook for the next ten years.


The director of the company explains the geo-political and geo-economic implications of this project that is expected to create 100,000 jobs according to the company. But a main issue of concern is that the project is located in a conflict zone where human rights violations have been prevalent and displacement a huge concern.

The project began earlier this year with the construction of a highway linking Myanmar and Thailand which is under the control of the Karen National Union (KNU), one of the ethnic minority rebel groups. In late July, the KNU began fighting the Myanmar army battalion stationed to protect the workers of Ital-Thai leading to concerns about workers safety. But, the company announced at a latest press conference that they are determined to carry on with the construction.

Ital-Thai is confident that this project will lead to unprecedented access to trade routes leading to the Middle East and Africa and hence new economic opportunities locally and regionally. But environmental and human rights groups are most concerned with the rapid industrialization in this special economic zone and the resultant large scale displacement and environmental damage.

Environmental experts explain the potential impact of the project, especially given that it is being constructed under the laws of Myanmar where anti-pollution legislation is weak to non-existent in implementation.

Meanwhile, researchers have expressed concern over the lack of alternative housing options given that the project construction is already underway. Presently at least 19 villages with 30,000 residents along the coast of Tavoy will be affected. These villagers are expected to be evicted to create space for the industrial zone.

www.presstv.ir