Chinese construction firm on road to deals in Myanmar

Wen said on Thursday that CRBC’s Myanmar office was notified last week that it had won the bid for the Eindu-Kawkareik Road Improvement Project, Lot 1 and Lot 2.
The project is the first state project the new democratically elected Myanmar government has publicly awarded to a Chinese company after coming to power, and also the first project funded by the Asian Development Bank that CRBC has won in the country in recent years.
The 65-kilometre Eindu-Kawkareik road project, located in Karen state in southern Myanmar, is part of the GMS’s East-West Economic Corridor.
As an important road in the economic belt, it will not only play a key role in connecting Myanmar and Thailand, but will also be effective in promoting the economic development of eastern Myanmar, Wen said.
He noted that most of the |Asean countries depended on trade in commodities, energy and agricultural products. “However, the shortage of infrastructure facilities such as roads, bridges and bulk|ports has affected government |revenues and people’s living standards within the region.”
As it is still in the early stage, no financial figures regarding the project have been released by the Myanmar government yet.
Luo Renjian, a researcher at the Institute of Transport Research at China’s National Development and Reform Commission, said building such a road with four lanes would cost between US$600 million and $700 million (Bt21.1 billion to Bt24.6 billion) based on the current market prices in developing countries.
With more than 50 branches and offices in more than 50 countries and regions in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, CRBC says it has established an efficient operation and development management network in global markets.
The company’s business mainly focuses on contracting for such projects as roads, bridges, ports, railways, airports, tunnels, water conservation, municipal works and dredging.
Fang Qiuchen, president of the China International Contractors Association in Beijing, said continued foreign and domestic investment in infrastructure, including roads and town expansion, were key factors for sustained economic growth in countries and regions, especially Africa and Southeast Asia.
CRBC, which is also building the 472km Mombasa-Nairobi standard-gauge railway, has signed deals worth $500 million with Kenyan contractors, creating more than 38,000 jobs in the process, according to the Kenyan government.