Bangkok: The keenly anticipated construction of the Dawei deepwater port in Myanmar is not proceeding as intended thanks to planning uncertainties and conflicts with potential investors, Thai Transport Minister Chadchat Sittipunt admitted Monday.
Thailand’s Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning has yet to study several key aspects of the project.
The Thai government is also having difficulty getting Japan onboard as a major investor. Tokyo disagrees with Thailand's proposed port locations in Dawei.
Japan is calling for industrial and container ports to be separated – similar to the setup of Thailand's industrial port in Map Ta Phut and container port in Laem Chabang – to prevent traffic congestion.
An agreement to jointly develop the project was signed last year by the governments of Thailand and Myanmar, but the massive project is known to be in need of financial backing.
Located in southern Myanmar, the port will form part of a new $50bn special economic zone with sea, land and rail links to Thailand. [12/02/13]
