The Nation
BANGKOK
Development of the Dawei Special Economic Zone (Dawei SEZ) between Thailand and Myanmar has reached the next level, with construction of the initial phase of the strategic project expected to commence this year, MR Pridiyathorn Devakula, deputy prime minister in charge of the economy, said yesterday.
Construction works in the initial phase will consist of a 27-square-kilometre industrial estate, a 138-km two-lane road between the Dawei SEZ in Myanmar's Tanintharyi Region and Phunumron checkpoint in Kanchanaburi, an initial township for the workers, a liquefied-natural-gas terminal for gas transportation over long distances, a telecom landline, a power plant, a small port and a water reservoir, he said.
The projects are worth around US$1.7 billion (Bt55.67 billion) in total.
The investment budget for the two-lane road is expected to be around Bt3.9 billion, and Thailand will provide a soft loan for Myanmar to fund construction of the road on condition that a Thai company builds it, said the deputy PM.
Japan might be involved by sharing in the provision of the soft loan, and discussions about this should be concluded within a month, he added.
"The bidding to start the investment with a small industrial estate in the initial phase is a brilliant idea, because if we start with 200 square kilometres [covering all the planned projects], it will never be finished.
"We'll start with 27 square kilometres and can wait and see the interest of investors. If they then began to build factories in the SEZ, then it would truly show the progress of the project," he said.
The projected total area of the Dawei SEZ is about 196 square kilometres.
Pridiyathorn told the press after the Third Myanmar-Thailand Joint High-level Committee Meeting regarding the Dawei SEZ, held in Bangkok yesterday, that the ongoing exclusive negotiations with a Thai consortium regarding the concession agreements for initial-phase development were already 90 per cent completed, and that the remaining 10 per cent was waiting for confirmation from the Myanmar side.
He expects the negotiations between the private sector and the Myanmar government to be finalised within the next month, and signed by March, after which construction should commence before June.
The Thai consortium that won the bidding comprises Italian-Thai Development, Rojana Industrial Park, Thai ESCO, and LNG Plus International.
The deputy premier also revealed that the Thai government had recommended to its Myanmar counterpart the need for a third partner in the Dawei project, and that Japan was the most suitable country to play such a role.
An official trilateral meeting between the countries was taking place yesterday, he said.
"Japan has declared an interest in joining the project, and they are willing to share their experience and help in terms of the technical and financial aspects. The trilateral meeting today will also include talks about a SPV [special purpose vehicle] partnership between the three parties," he added.
An SPV is a company specifically formed to develop, build, maintain and operate the assets for the contracted period of an infrastructure project.
Finally.., it's back on track...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(GlobalPost/GlobalPost)
Two Thailand-based companies to develop first-phase Myanmar SEZ
YANGON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Two Thailand-based companies will take up the development of the initial phase of Myanmar's Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the country's Tanintharyi region following efforts by Myanmar and Thai governments in pushing the implementation of the delayed project, official sources said Monday.
The Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD) and Rojana Industrial Park Plc (ROJNA) will sign the 1.7 billion U.S. dollars' deal with Myanmar in March for the move.
The two companies proposed in their bid to develop a two-lane highway to link Thailand with Dawei and an industrial estate of 34 square-kilometers with a 75-year concession of 50 years plus a 25- year extension.
The construction period is targeted at eight years and to start in the second half of this year after contract signing, the sources said, adding that the first phase of the project targets to complete within five years with such infrastructure as telecom network, LNG terminal, a small port and a water reservoir.
Thailand will also provide soft loan to Myanmar to meet a budget of around 119.23 million U.S. dollars for the road construction, the Thai government was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Japan agreed to take part and offer loan for the road construction under equal partnership with Dawei SEZ Development Co, which is a special-purpose vehicle to run the project.
Myanmar and Thailand held the third meeting of Joint High Level Committee on comprehensive development of the Dawei SEZ last week in Bangkok to push the speedy implementation on the delayed Thai- invested Dawei SEZ.
Co-chaired by Myanmar Vice President U Nyan Tun and Thai Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula, the meeting reaffirmed the two countries' commitment to the development of the Dawei SEZ, which is a 196 square-kilometer strategic development project.
On completion of the project, it will be Southeast Asia's largest industrial complex that includes highway link to Bangkok and the eastern seaboard of Thailand.
Myanmar and Thailand have been seeking revival of the years- delayed Dawei SEZ project although it started in November 2010 in accordance with a framework agreement.
he wants war 
