Myanmar airport delay

A long-delayed airport project in Myanmar has been postponed again, by four years this time, because of a delay in securing funds.  (See also ON TOUR plus AND FINALLY)

A South Korean company first planned to build the Hanthawaddy Airport on an old World War II Japanese airfield near the town of Bago, about 100km (60 miles) north of the commercial city Yangon but abandoned the project in 1994, soon after a ground-breaking ceremony.

"The launch date of the fourth international airport in the country, had been put off from 2018 to 2022 due to delays in getting ODA (official development assistance)," has now been quoted citing the local CAA. Critics attacked the lack of a plan to transfer passengers to Yangon.

In 2014, a Japan-Singapore consortium won a bid to build the airport at a cost of US$1.5bn with 49% secured through an ODA loan, with a 12m annual capacity.

Tourist arrivals have almost exceeded the capacity of existing international airports in Yangon, the city of Mandalay and the capital Naypyitaw both said to be being upgraded. Up to five million tourists are expected to visit Myanmar in 2015, up from just over one million in 2012.  www.yangonairportonline.com

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