Construction of Korea-Myanmar industrial complex to begin this year

NAY PYI TAW, Jun 19, 2020, Myanmar Times. Construction of the Korea-Myanmar Industrial Complex (KMIC) in Yangon is expected to commence before the end of the year despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Kim Gun-Woo, general manager of Korea Land and Housing Corporation representative office in Myanmar, told The Myanmar Times.

“According to our plan, we will be done with the detailed design in September, after which a tender to develop the project will be called in October. The winning bidder will be announced in November. We expect to begin construction in December,” Mr Kim said.

The KMIC is being built as a 60-40 joint venture by government-owned Korea Land and Housing Corp and Myanmar’s Ministry of Construction. The Koreans will oversee the construction of the US$110 million industrial complex, which will take place across 555 acres of land north of Yangon, near Nyaung Na Pin Village in Hlegu.

Once it is completed in five years time, the complex is expected to serve as a physical platform for up to 200 businesses in textiles and garments, food and beverage processing, logistics, construction materials and assembly to operate.

Mr Kim said marketing and sales promotions to attract large South Korean companies to set up shop in the complex will begin next year.

The KMIC is one of the two largest projects between Myanmar and Korea, the other being the Dala Bridge connecting downtown Yangon to Dala across the river.

A memorandum of understanding for the project was first signed in 2015. A formal agreement for the joint venture was signed in August last year, and the opening ceremony for the complex held in September.