Yangon development plan spotlights prioritized projects

Published on Sunday, 24 February 2013 19:55

Upcoming report on the urban development project of Yangon will stress proper land program and prioritize certain projects, according to the project committee.

The five-year development plan for Myanmar’s commercial hub is currently being mapped out by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Yangon region government and Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC).

It will cover different areas of concerns for the city’s development, according to earlier reports.

The two interim reports on the program, which is also known as that of Greater Yangon (2013-18), have come out subsequently in December and January, highlighting the urgent areas for the government to take short and medium-term initiatives then.

The first draft of final report will now come out next month when the project team will hold a meeting.

“We will hold the project committee’s fourth meeting in coming March, and the drafted final report will come out there. It will stress proper management on land use and a framework for prioritizing projects,” Toe Aung, head of urban planning and land use management department under YCDC.

He explained that different sectors such as transportation, urban planning and so on are scrutinized and carefully planned by each team composed of responsible officials from YCDC and those from JICA.

Regarding the land use management, policies will be set up for designating urban areas like deciding which land is for high rises and which for commercial areas.

Currently, 22 per cent of Yangon area is regarded as developed, 51 per cent as agricultural, 9 per cent as under-developed, and 6 per cent as green in the report.

Standing top in the prioritized projects is that of fresh water supply within the city and expanding the industrial zone. Yangon’s 6,665 hectare industrial land is not sufficient enough to provide jobs for the rising population in the city and it is expected to require further 700 hectares to be industrialized.

According to Toe Aung, the final report will be completed in December. Earlier this month, he also said that Japan may possibly provide low-interest loans worth up to US$500 million to finance the project after evaluation of the final report.

The strategic plan, when completed, is to include a review of existing conditions, the results of an extensive household survey, a socio-economic framework, a vision and strategy for sustainable development, and the urban infrastructure development framework, according to JICA.