Rakhine resuscitate dead airport

RAKHINE STATE The Rakhine State government, in Myanmar, has invited private developers to accelerate construction of an airport at the ancient city of Mrauk U in northern region of the state.

Irrawaddy media quoted the regional transport minister, U Aung Kyaw Zan, saying the state government has called on private investors to bid for a build-operate-transfer contract that would speed up completion of an airport, now years behind schedule.

“We are calling on international and local companies to invest and to continue the project…it is estimated the finished project would cost 26 billion kyats (USD18.9 million).”

With support from private investors, the government expects to finish airport construction in three to five years.

However, not all of the project plans and proposals have been received and the government will need time to complete negotiations with successful bidders, the minister said.

A local construction company, Su Htoo San, started to lay foundations for the project in 2015.

Initially, the state government planned to spend only 2 billion kyats (USD1.5 million) per year to complete the airport, meaning the publicly-funded airport would not open for another 13 years, the report claimed.

In 2016, the union government cut funding for the Mrauk U airport ending all work on the project, it added.

The airport site is located south of Mrauk U, outside of the protected cultural heritage zones, but close to the famous Koe Thaung temple with its 90,000 Buddha images.

Mrauk U is an archaeologically significant town in north Rakhine State, Myanmar.  The main attractions are temple ruins.

The most popular transport link to Mrauk U is a domestic flight from Yangon to Sittwe, where travellers transfer to a boat on the Kaladan River to complete the trip.

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