Next stop: Burma

Infrastructure developer Dr Somchet Thinaphong says that Burma is opening up, with new mega-projects designed to facilitate trade links in the Asean region

Dr Somchet Thinaphong, managing director of Dawei Development Co Ltd, is spearheading a mega-infrastructure and investment scheme in Burma on behalf of Thailand's Ital-Thai Group.

"We received the concession from the Burmese government about a year ago. Early last year, Burma designated the area, which is as big as 250 square kilometres, on Dawei's seafront, as the Dawei special economic zone.

"It's the first special economic zone in Burma that is ready for foreign direct investment. Regarding the Asean Economic Community, which will be effective in 2015, the zone is in the West, joining the so-called East-West corridor of Asean.

"From the East, it's Vietnam - Quy Nohn City - then Siem Reap and Si Sophon in Cambodia, then Bangkok and Kanchanaburi, Thailand, and Dawei. It's going to be a roadway connection of four countries as well as a link to the South China Sea (Vietnam) and the Andaman Sea (Burma).

"Besides this physical, logistic linkage, Asean Connectivity also means institutional linkages involving financial and banking services, legal systems across borders, as well as harmonisation and liberalisation.

"In terms of value creation, each of the countries involved must also identify their core competencies. If one country is good at designing, it should focus on that. Another country may be good at manufacturing or trading, and so forth. Most importantly, they must be able to support one another across the value chain.

"The key components of the Dawei Development project start with construction of a deep-sea port and related infrastructure, and utilities such as transportation routes and water resources.

"Then, key industries, which are divided into upstream, mid-stream and downstream sectors, namely steel, oil and gas and petrochemicals, plus trading and services such as a free-trade zone and tourism businesses.

"This mega-project requires an overall investment of US$8 billion, or about Bt240 billion for infrastructure and utilities.

"Regarding the Dawei power plant project, the Burmese government has decided to change the source of fuel from coal to other energies such as natural gas and oil (due to opposition by environmental protection groups).

"On politics, I think the world has changed, as people see the potential of Burma, and people want the country to open up. Now, the attitudes of the US government, Japan and China are positive, and they are going there to invest.

"The recent visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Burma helps (improve the situation there). It meant a lot. The upcoming by-election for Aung San Suu Kyi also signals that Burma is opening up and seeking foreign investment.

"In our Dawei project, we target Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Indian and Asean investors that have the promixity and comparative advantages. It will take about three and a half years to complete the port construction as well as other infrastructure and utilities, so within four years from now you can set up factories in Dawei.

"From Bangkok to Dawei, the distance is only 350 kilometres. The Thai government's project to build a motorway from Bang Yai to Kanchanaburi and the border with Burma will also benefit the project.

"In terms of scale, the Dawei mega-project, with a total area of 250 square kilometres, is 10 times bigger than Thailand's eastern seaboard, while the Dawei deep-sea port will be twice as large as Thailand's Laem Chabang port, which could also be linked with Dawei by highway (allowing seaborne cargoes from Thailand to bypass the longer traditional shipping routes to the Indian Ocean)," he said.

nationmultimedia.com