Myanmar development authorities have drafted urban development projects and industrial zone projects for 96 towns across the country, and 13 out of which have been submitted to relevant legislatures for approval to implement, according to Kyaw Lin,Deputy Minister for Construction on August 3.
A total of 13 projects including those for such cities as Mawlamyine, Bago,Pathein, Myitkyina and Monywa are now on their way seeking parliamentary approval to be carried out starting from October 2017, said Kyaw Win during a national-level legislative session when he replied to a representative’s inquiry about the underlying factors and transparency in devising town and village development projects.
Myanmar’s largest cities of Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw are designated as ‘national growth centres’ in the nationwide urban development plan, according to Kyaw Win. Towns important for border trade such as Myawaddy, Muse and Tamu fall in the category of ‘special function growth centres’ along with tourist destinationssuch as Bagan, Inlay and Myauk-U and natural resources-based commercial towns such as Myeik, Ngayoke Kaung and Mogok.
Regional administrative capitals, commercially important cities and other large towns are scheduled to perform development projects under the category of ‘regional growth centres’. Based on the national multidevelopment policies, authorities under the Ministry of Construction have drafted urban development projects for 68 towns that have a population of over 50,000 and 11 towns with a population of below 50,000 as well as other 17 towns selected according to the regional needs.
In formulating urban development projects, the Ministry of Construction presents the project drafts to legislative bodies at regional and national levels through the relevant State or Region governments to get project confirmation form and approval, said Kyaw Win. They discuss the project proposals with line ministries and other government stakeholders, and hold meetings with town elders to publicize the projects for transparency, he continued.
As urbanisation rises in Myanmar, the authorities have projected the number of secondary towns with a population between 50,000 and 100,000 to rise up to 43 by 2040, a significant growth from 25 in 2014.
