Construction of international airport delayed
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The July 1 scheduled start to construction of Hantharwady International Airport has been postponed, says the Aviation Department.
The Tender Scrutinising Committee is now examining seven construction companies short-listed to build the 12-million-passenger-capacity airport in Bago Region, 80km from Yangon.
The airport is scheduled to open in January 2018 after a planned three-year construction project at a site used during World War II by the Japanese airforce.
More return after attacks in Malaysia
More Myanmar citizens arrived home from Malaysia at the weekend, with most citing safety concerns as the reason for their return.
Over 100 Myanmar migrant workers, including some who were injured during violence targeting Myanmar Muslims in Malaysia, arrived at Yangon International Airport on Saturday.
Among them were family members of Min Zaw, who was attacked and killed in Malaysia, Ko Ko Maung, who was severely injured, and Min Zaw Oo, among the first victims of the violence in western Selayang. Two Rakhine youths who were slashed in the Subang attacks were also on the return flight.
About 40 of the returnees had been ejected after being held at Malaysian detention centres for not having work or residency permits. Malaysian police arrested dozens of Myanmar migrants after a crack down on undocumented workers in the first week of June.
Coffee shops spring up on expressway
Tenders to run coffee shops on the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway will be opened soon, according to sources from the Ministry of Construction.
“The ministry is now in the process of building the coffee shops for the convenience of the people travelling on the expressway. Some of the attached toilets have already been completed. There will be no charge for using the toilets,” said Kyi Zaw Myint, the chief engineer for the expressway.
Successful bidders will get one-year leases to run the shops, and car repair services shops will also be built nearby.
“The shops will be built every 20 miles [32km] along the road. The construction project is now 80 per cent completed. They use solar power for electricity,” he added.
More land leased for fuel stores
Fifty-five hectares owned by Myanmar Port Authority at Thilawa Special Economic Zone in Yangon Region’s Thanlyin and Kyauktan Townships has been leased to private fuel companies to operate fuel storage and distribution tasks, the Directorate of Investment and Companies Administration (DICA ) reports.
Five companies – PadaukShwewa, ThuriRaSweninn, ShweTaung, International Group of Entrepreneur and Green Asia – have leased the plots to fuel-distribution firms, who will build jetties for loading and tanks for storing the fuel, forming a vital part of the distribution process.
The fuel companies involved are Htoo, PyiKhaingPhyo, Myanmar Economic Holding Limited, Max Myanmar, International Great Enterprises-IGE, Dagon International, KaungZawHein, AyeyarShwewa, Yuzana, Edin, ShweThanLwin, AnawaHlwein, Myat Myitta Mon, Nila Yoma, ShweTaung, Green Asia, Kaytumati, Zay Kabar, Myanmar Naing Group and 2000 limited.
The government, which had in the past tightly controlled fuel distribution through a permit system, has since June 2010 allowed private filling stations to open.
There are over 400 filling stations across the country, with hundreds of companies looking to open stations.
