Jica’s Dawei port survey ‘ready soon’

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) is set to finalise a draft of the development survey of the Dawei deepsea port project in Myanmar by the end of this month, said Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith.

Mr Arkhom made the statement after meeting the Jica delegation led by Kimio Takeya, distinguished technical adviser to the Jica president at the Transport Ministry yesterday.

The minister said the final draft of the development survey is close to being concluded. Once completed, Jica representatives will meet with the Myanmarese government for discussions.

After that, the issue will be brought up at a joint meeting between Thailand and Myanmar, which is expected to take place next month.

The joint meeting is meant to pave the way for the development of the Dawei project.

In March, Porametee Vimolsiri, secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), said Thailand and Myanmar had jointly surveyed the 138-km road, from Dawei’s proposed deep-sea port to Ban Phu Nam Ron, Kanchanaburi, before the latter asked for loans to finance road construction.

The Thai government agreed to offer a 4.5-billion-baht loan to Myanmar to finance the road in 2015, but Myanmar only agreed to borrow the funds last year at a 0.1% interest rate and a 20-year repayment window.

The cabinet has already endorsed the loan plan, the biggest it has ever extended to any other government, but the road’s construction has been subject to numerous delays as the new Myanmar government has asked to restudy the plan on several occasions.