Myanmar plans to develop a deep-sea port and special economic zone (SEZ) in Yangon, the country’s commercial capital.

News reports said the Yangon Regional Government is setting aside more than 20,000 hectares of land near Thanlyin township for the port and the SEZ. It expects the port and SEZ project to boost trade and foreign investments.

At an investment forum in May 2019, Yangon’s Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein said the regional government has made the project a priority, and it is talking with several international firms to develop the port.

Some 90% of maritime trade in the country passes through Yangon’s ports. However, the Yangon region does not have an international-standard port that can accommodate large ships.

The Yangon City Development Committee will develop and manage the SEZ, which will have an industrial zone, power plants, and commercial and residential areas. It plans to develop 29 other industrial zones in the outskirts of Yangon—at Kwinchankone, Kawhmu, Twantay, Thanlyin, Kyauktan, Khayan, Thonekhwa, Taikkyi, Hmwabi, Hlegu, and Htantabin—in the next 3 years.

SEZs are generally defined as geographic areas where the business environment is more liberal and effective, which help strengthen the competitiveness and efficiency of industries and spread economic and social development in surrounding areas. These zones can also stimulate economic activity along economic corridors and especially in the border areas.

Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, is part of the East–West Economic Corridor project of the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program. The corridor stretches from Danang in Viet Nam through the Lao People’s Republic and Thailand to Yangon. The project is helping increase economic opportunities in the subregion by linking manufacturing hubs, industrial clusters, and economic zones, as well as centers of demand, such as capitals and major cities.

Read the full article from Myanmar Times.