YANGON, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) — Myanmar President U Thein Sein has urged the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Central Working Body to speed up the tender process or implementation of some key SEZs during the present term of the government which is to expire on March 30, official media reported Tuesday.
SEZ projects are important in terms of connectivity not only for Myanmar but also for the ASEAN region as they are strategically located on international routes in coastal regions, U Thein Sein, who is also chairman of the central working body, told consulting firms, preferred bidders and officials concerned.
The president was referring to the country's three SEZ projects -- the Kyaukphyu in Rakhine state which is under the tendering process, and the Thilawa SEZ in Yangon region and Dawei SEZ in Tanintharyi region which are under implementation.
The Thilawa SEZ is attracting Japanese investors, while the Dawei SEZ is implemented by Thai investors.
A total of 48 foreign companies have invested 500 million U.S. dollars in the Thilawa SEZ, which the report described as the most successful one in Myanmar.
The initial project for the Dawei SEZ is being carried out by Roland Berger, a global strategy consulting firm headquartered in Munich, Germany, the report said.
The Myanmar government is also seeking parliament approval to demarcate a 1,727 hectares of land in Kyaukphyu, Yanpye and Manaung townships under the regional master plan to establish the Kyaukphyu SEZ in the region.
The initial phase of the Kyaukphyu SEZ development project will have a deep-sea port, an industrial park and an integrated residential area.
The Kyaukphyu SEZ project is expected to start implementation in February 2016 in an initial area of 100 hectares for developing an industrial park. The overall project will take 20 to 30 years.
