The drafting of the Master Plan for the Development of Tanitharyi Region will be led by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will take the lead in the drafting of the master plan for Tanintharyi Region, according to a representative from JICA.

The Myanmar government has asked the Japanese government for help in drawing up the Tanintharyi Region’s development master plan along with a comprehensive development plan for the Dawei special economic zone (SEZ) project.

The request was made during official visits by Myanmar’s commerce minister and Tanintharyi Region’s chief minister in Japan and when State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi held a meeting with Hiroto Izumi, special adviser to Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in August last year.

“Based on the request from the Myanmar government regarding the survey of Dawei SEZ and Tanintharyi Region development, JICA has decided to implement it accordingly,” the representative from JICA, on the condition of anonymity, told The Myanmar Times.

The survey will collect necessary information for the full-phase development planning of Dawei SEZ while utilising the existing “master plan”. The existing plan was drafted by Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency (NEDA) and Thai investor Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD). “I hope to make the SEZ’s full phase to contribute to people’s livelihood improvement and socio-economic development for Tanintharyi Region as well as Myanmar as a whole.

“The survey is intended to cover a wide range of sectors. Among them, we are thinking that the port at the SEZ as well as electricity and industrial development based on the characteristics of Tanintharyi Region are particularly important,” the JICA representative said.

“The survey period is expected to be about one year. However, regarding the formulation of projects, after the survey is finished, we will consider if there is a request from the Myanmar government again,” the JICA representative said.

U Phyo Win Htun said that JICA’s working groups in Dawei, Myeik and Kauk Thaung districts will start working on the master plan by the end of June.

(The Myanmar Times: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/26576-jica-draws-up-development-plan-for-tanintharyi-and-dawei-sez.html )

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