Dormitories for the first 2500 of what could eventually be 200,000 workers at Thilawa special economic zone have been completed, and could receive their first tenants within weeks. A bed in one of the 18-by-25-foot rooms will go for US$25, the management company says.
U Nyan Thit Hlaing, director of Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Public Company, told The Myanmar Times on October 27 that the company was awaiting the grant of a residence permit from the government.
“We’ve applied for a Building Completion Certificate so that labourers will be allowed to live there. Once it’s received, we would hope to be able to rent out the space for $25 a month, starting by the end of the year. There is space for about 2500 labourers in the three completed dorms. This will be a relatively inexpensive solution, and we plan to expand dormitory construction as required later,” he said.
The 80-acre (32-hectare) SEZ residential zone also contains apartments, hotels, gas stations and banks. The company will build a further 12 dormitories in addition those already completed, at an average cost of more than K1 billion each. The residential zone is 80 percent owned by Thilawa SEZ Public Company and 20pc by Thilawa SEZ Management Committee.
“We’ve asked the company to rent space to 50 to 100 labourers. Gas stations and hotels will also be built in the zone. This will help overseas staff who have to commute to and from Yangon,” said U Nyan Thit Hlaing.
The living accommodation will also be serviced by restaurants and shops, though cooking in the dorms will be restricted. The apartments, each of which can accommodate 12 people, are built on the Japanese model, and have their own water supply, electricity and sewage. Thilawa SEZ is expected to launch its second phase soon. The size of the entire project is 2500 hectares and, when complete, the SEZ is expected to provide 200,000 jobs.
Translation by Khant Lin Oo
Quoted from mmtimes.
