Mayor puts Yangon New Town back on the table

The project had been announced before any public discussions had been held about it.

Yangon mayor Hla Myint submitted the proposal to the regional parliament on September 22, saying a tender would be announced for its construction once the proposal passes parliament.

Everyone will benefit from the mega project, the mayor said. It will create opportunities for companies, investors and people, while bringing infrastructure to the least developed area adjacent the city, he added.

Hla Myint said that more than 5 million people lived in Yangon but the city’s expansion was curtailed in the west because of the lack of infrastructure there. The northern, eastern and southern edges of the city have benefitted from development but the western edge – on the other side of the Hlaing River – has seen none, he added.  The construction of a new town there would add roads and other valuable infrastructure, the mayor said.

The regional government will also benefit as it lacks the financial resources to build infrastructure in the area, he added.

The mayor said the plan matched the one submitted by Myanma Satanar Myothit Plc which he said had been selected to build the town when he first announced it on August 22. Prior to this out-of-the-blue announcement the company was virtually unknown in Myanmar.

The August 22 announcement shocked the public because the deal had been secret and the company unknown. A backlash caused the mayor to make a sudden U-turn, saying the project would be discussed in parliament and then put up for tender.

Land prices in the project area surged after the project was announced, and there were reports that speculators had snapped up parcels of land ahead of the announcement.

Hla Mying said a panel of experts would be set up to oversee the tender process. He also said residents of the area welcomed the project because they are poor.

MP Nyo Nyo Thin, who represents Bahan Township constituency, said the mayor’s proposal would be discussed on September 29 and it would not proceed if the parliament rejected it. He said, however, that the project was likely to win the support of most MPs.

The MP said he would use the debate in the regional parliament to question the merits and motives of the project. He described some of the “facts” in the mayor’s proposal as “lies”. “What method was used to measure public support for the project?” he asked.

He also cast doubt on claims that the project was included in the Greater Yangon Urban Development Master Plan proposed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and asked whether it was legal. “There are so many questions," he said, adding that the fundamental question was whether or not the government could be trusted. “The honesty of the government must be questioned,” he said.

He also suggested that Yangon New Town was a done, accusing the regional government of plotting on behalf of Chinese companies that had allegedly bought land in the project area ahead of its announcement. He did not name the companies, however.

The project sparked a backlash when it was announced on August 22 for two main reasons: first, it had been drafted behind closed doors and second an unknown company was handed the contract to build it. Questions were raised about who was behind the mega project, which would be located on some of the most valuable land in the country. People asked why this land was apparently being given away when the government could not even afford to provide basic medical care and education to its citizens. The lack of transparency alarmed people and numerous media commentators said that even previous juntas had been less brazen than the Yangon Regional government.

Many described the deal as a swindle, saying regional and state government officials and their families are using their positions to line their pockets and expand their businesses as corruption and bribery spreads from Nay Pyi Taw to regional and state governments.