Plastic products are both a convenience and a curse but some innovative businesses in Yangon are striving to reduce their impact on the environment. FROM THE packaging of food to the outfitting of cars, plastic is essential to modern life. Its use accelerated rapidly after World War One, though the first man-made plastic material, Parkesine, […]
China Seeks Road, River Route Via Ayeyarwady for Economic Corridor
November 29, 2019 by
China is planning to build vital trade and logistics links with Myanmar along the Ayeyarwady River as part of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) to bypass poor road infrastructure. Proposed by China in November 2017 as part of its global Belt and Road Initiative, the CMEC is expected to connect China’s Yunnan Province with Mandalay […]
Mandalay to spend k5.3b to prevent riverbank erosion in major rivers
November 19, 2019 by
Mandalay Region will spend K 5.3 billion (US$2.29 million) in 2020 to fortify river banks to prevent erosion, the regional Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems said. The measures to prevent riverbank erosion will be carried out in 20 villages along the Ayeyarwady River, Panlaung River, Chaung Ma Gyi Creek and Dokhtawady […]
IFC report recommends alternatives to high-risk Myitsone
January 3, 2019 by
A government-sponsored study warned against restarting the highly controversial Myitsone dam and recommended alternatives to develop the country’s hydropower sector. The final version of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the hydropower sector, supported by the energy and environment ministries and authored by the International Finance Corporation, has been published. The SEA involved a range […]
Mandalay city to seize low-cost apartments flipped by owners
September 4, 2018 by
The Mandalay City Development Authority will seize apartments that have been resold and re-rented in low-cost housing buildings for squatters, a senior city official has said. U Kyaw San Myint, a member of the authority, said his office is compiling a list of people occupying the buildings on Strand Road west of Mandalay city. City […]
Big dams can wait, Myanmar overhauls energy strategy
November 14, 2017 by
NAYPYITAW (Reuters) – Big hydropower dams are not a priority in Myanmar’s strategy to tackle chronic power shortages, the country’s new energy minister said in an interview that cast doubt over a controversial China-backed project in the country’s north. Already the construction minister, Win Khaing has overhauled the poor Southeast Asian country’s power strategy since […]
Beyond China: Nation must diversify FDI
October 3, 2017 by
While for a long time the world has been focussed on political reforms in Myanmar during its transition from military rule to a democracy, the country has also witnessed a significant economic transformation. The most obvious sign of this is the sudden jump in foreign direct investment (FDI), from US$4 billion (K5.46 trillion) in 2013-14 […]
