![]() Myanmar granted the contract to a consortium led by ITD in August 2015 and March 2016. However, in 2014 Thailand and Myanmar revived the project and asked ITD once again to construct the “initial phase” of the SEZ. Meanwhile, Thai banks have committed $4 billion to keep the project moving.īut after two years of paralysis, many experts argued the mega-project was doomed to failure. Thailand and Myanmar asked Japan to become a third-party investor, but the Japanese government refused. Each government took a 50 per cent stake and sought international investors. The Thai and Myanmar governments took over responsibility from ITD in a bid to rescue the floundering project. In 2013, ITD was stripped of its status as sole developer after failing to attract enough investment. Initially, the project’s estimated total cost was US$8.6 billion but later rose to $10.7 billion. In 2012, both governments agreed to complete the project by 2015. The MoU granted ITD a 75-year concession to construct the project and attract investment. In May 2008, the Thai government led by Samak Sundaravej signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Myanmar’s military junta to develop the Dawei Special Economic Zone bordering Thailand on the Indian Ocean. The deals included the construction of an industrial estate, a small port, liquefied natural gas terminal, power plants and telecommunications. ITD, which had invested more than Bt8 billion via its five “project companies”, has requested help from the Thai government following the termination of its seven concession agreements. The panel’s chair, Myanmar’s deputy minister of electricity and energy Tun Naing said his country would now look for new developers to invest in the projects. The management committee said it had “lost confidence” in the Thai firm after repeated issues. On January 14, the Dawei Special Economic Zone Management Committee (DSEZMC) announced it was cancelling contracts with the project’s contractor Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD), citing “repeated delays, continuing breaches of financial obligations … and failure to confirm their financial capacity to proceed with development”. Since its inception 12 years ago, the multibillion-dollar project has hit numerous snags, including funding shortfalls, local opposition and concern over environmental damage. The ambitious, but controversial Dawei Special Economic Zone (DSEZ) project seeks to transform the sleepy coastal town into Southeast Asia’s largest industrial and trade zone – covering an area of about 200 square kilometres and incorporating a deep-sea port the size of Thailand’s Laem Chabang. Myanmar’s long-delayed Dawei mega-project experienced yet another setback after contracts with Thailand’s construction giant Italian-Thai Development were cancelled recently.
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