ITD reports more space being allocated for Dawei

ITD is studying an appropriate location for Phase 3 of the project after receiving a satisfactory response from investors for phases 1 and 2, said vice president Anan Aunmrapal.
 There will be an allocation of additional areas for Phase 3 of the Dawei project. The original allocation was 625 rai (about 1 square kilometre), but this will now be expanded to 5,000-6,250 rai.
 “All Early Industry areas combined at Dawei account for only 5 per cent of the 204.5-square-kilometre Dawei project. Previously, we saw companies interested in the Early Industry phase wanting small factories, so we divided the area into small blocks. However, as many as 10 blocks were booked by some investors so they could to build up their cluster, so we need to expand Phase 3 to cope with demand,” Anan said.
 The Early Industry plan for the Dawei Industrial Estate results from the Myanmar government’s need to stimulate all parts in the country for future large industrial estates and the Dawei deep-sea port, he said.
 In the initial stage, the Myanmar government wants the local workforce to take part in industries related to value creation in raw materials and other local resources for the benefit of knowledge transfer. These include rubber, oil, palm and tin.
 Most of the investors booking space to date are Thai small and medium-sized enterprises in the rubber processing and frozen seafood industries.
 As to the infrastructure in Dawei, Anan said construction was being undertaken by ITD’s subsidiary, Dawei Development Co (DDC), registered in Myanmar to oversee the overall project.
 Other subsidiaries, in which ITD holds stakes through DDC, were also set up to take charge of other infrastructure projects.
 Dawei Deep Sea Port supervises construction of the port project, while Dawei Road Link to Thailand takes care of the construction of roads from the Dawei project to the Kingdom.
 Dawei Water oversees establishment of the water system, while Dawei Telecommunication is responsible for construction and establishment of communications at the Dawei Industrial Estate.
 “Presently, we are open for those who are interested in investing in Dawei’s infrastructure projects to register in the subsidiaries. Investors from several countries, in both Asia and Europe, are paying attention to investment.
The list of shareholders in the subsidiaries cannot be disclosed until they receive formal certification from the Myanmar government,” Anan said.