Myanmar’s Dawei is very much at the cross roads as Myanmar’s Industry Minister, Soe Thane, recently acknowledged to the Bangkok Post newspaper.
“If (project developers Italian-Thai) can do it they should. If they cannot, then we will have to review it,” he said before hinting that the government was looking at other options.
“Dawei is an SEZ and the new area (Thilawa) would not in any way be a competitor, although the new zone will also have a deep sea port, but with more than 1,200 km of coastal shoreline, we can have many deep sea ports,” he added.
The news came as little surprise to sources in Bangkok where there has long been scepticism about Dawei’s viability especially now that political reform in Myanmar is gathering pace.
“We didn’t think it was going to happen anyway,” said one senior government official, pointing out the problems it was having getting investors.
