Construction of houses begins in riot-hit town

Construction of new houses in Myanmar’s riot-hit Meikhtila has begun, according to officials from the town.

“The building of 200 new houses, 30 three-storey build-ings and an apartment for 

government staff is now under way in an area named ‘Chan Aye Thaya’ there in the town. More buildings will also follow after them. In the area, the main road will be 50 feet [about 15 metres] wide and streets will be 30 feet wide. The construction is expected to be completed before the rainy season comes. Households which can prove their land ownership are also resettled now in Thirimingala ward beside Yangon-Mandalay Road,” said Tin Maung Soe, the administrator for Meikhtila district.

“About 150 construction workers are now at work in Chan Aye. More workers are to be recruited for the project. They are mostly from refugee camps and nearby wards in the township. The construction is expected to be complete in time,” said Khin Nan, the supervisor for Chan Aye Thaya’s construction project.

Since the violence in March last year, more than 4,000 refugees have been living in five internally displaced persons camps in the town.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has officially opened the Construction and Housing Development Bank (CHD) the first of its kind in the country, in the commercial capital Yangon, according to sources.

The bank was opened on January Saturday on Shwe Dagon Pagoda Road in Dagon township.

Long-term personal loans for buying houses, apartments and condo flats are now avail-

able from the bank, according to CHD.

The bank said loans are also available for local construction firms and land owners who do not have enough funds to build their own houses.

“Loans are now available for buying houses. There are different interest rates for them 

as they’re long-term. Anybody who is accountable to pay back can take out the loans 

from the bank,” said Win Zaw, the managing director of the bank.

CHD, directly supervised by the Ministry of Construction, was licensed by the central bank in July last year according to financial rules and regulations in Myanmar.

It was launched with initial capital of 100 billion kyats (Bt3.39 billion).