– infrastructure of superlatives
The Myanmar government plans to build the biggest harbour in South-East-Asia. It is planned to build the 58-billion-US $ port with the help of foreign investors. The dimensions are gigantic: The harbour is supposed to handle 250 million tons of freight per year, that is 80 % more than Hamburg’s freight harbour capacity. The port shall form the center of a 200 square-kilometer industrial zone. An oil refinery, a chemical plant, steel production and a paper factory are planned within that zone. All together offering about 100.000 new jobs.
In addition, Myanmar intends to build a 66 billion US-$-highway plus new railroads to Thailand (300km) and China (900km).
The news channel “NTV” cites a manager “Italian-Thai” – one of the biggest Thai construction companies – that the project marks the beginning of a new area, offering new possibilities for the Myanmar population, and catapulting one of the poorest countries of the world into a reformed economic status.
It remains to be seen what advantages this huge project will offer for the 43.000 inhabitants who will be relocated in order to gain space for the new industrial zone. However, should this plan be implemented, South East Asia could profit from it, as transport routes between China and India would be shortened considerably, and transport times and rates could drop immensly.
Such a mega-project is a source for new opportunities, yet it might also cause immense hardship. Only if both investors and project managers work together with a Myanmar government taking care of humans‘ needs, this plan has the potential to become a real improvement for the world of logistics.
