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| Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is greeted by well-wishers as he arrives for his birthday party in Hong Kongin this file photo from July 26. Mr Thaksin reportedly visited the site of the Dawei deep-sea port in Myanmar on Thursday. The government is expected to hold a 30% share in the project. (AFP photo) |
A report by Myanmar-based Eleven Media said that Mr Thaksin and his entourage were welcomed by project development committee members at Dawei Airport after flying in by private jet from Yangon.
The deep-sea port will be built on a 25-square kilometre site that includes the coastal area of Dawei beach, a forest and an old oil palm plantation.
A special purpose vehicle (SPV) in Thailand was set up earlier this month to handle all project management after Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD) struggled for two years to get the project off the ground.
All investments in Dawei will be transferred to the SPV, in which the Thai and Myanmar governments would hold equal shares, expected to be 30% each.
Official details of Mr Thaksin’s visit, or the reason for it, have not been released.
Mr Thaksin is not the only notable former prime minister to visit Myanmar this week. Former British PM Tony Blair was reportedly the talk of the hotel when he was spotted striding through the lobby at the Governor’s Residence on Saturday in Yangon, according to the Express.
