Kyaukphyu Bid Result Delayed

The winning bids for development of the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Rakhine State could be announced at the start of the next fiscal year, a project official said, after the second selection deadline came and went with no resolve.

U Aung Kyaw Than, secretary of the Kyaukphyu SEZ bid evaluation committee, told The Irrawaddy in midMarch that the committee is still in a “negotiations stage.”

“This is the final stage of negotiations. We still need to discuss more about the processes with the winners,” said U Aung Kyaw Than, who declined to reveal the frontrunners.

After failing to meet an earlier deadline in midJanuary, the committee told The Irrawaddy that the winning bidders would be announced in late February.

The government called for infrastructure tender bids in September 2014, a few months after awarding a massive consulting contract to Singaporean CPG Corporation. Bidding closed on Nov. 24, with a total of 12 proposals submitted by one local and 11 international firms.

U Aung Kyaw Than said three contracts will be awarded for development of the site’s deep sea port, petrochemical processing plant and a variety of industrial factories.

“That’s why it’s taking so long,” he said. “This is a huge project and it will impact the country’s economy, that’s why we’re discussing this cautiously with them.”

Kyaw Hsu Mon