Thandwe: The prices of properties in Kyaukpru and Thandwe townships, the main economic hubs in southern Arakan State in Burma, have jumped with the growing concentration of foreign entrepreneurs in the area, investing in business interests and ventures.
A resident of Kyaukpru said the property prices have increased as foreigners arrive who are willing to pay whatever the price to get a property in the business hubs.
“The property prices in our area are now skyrocketing because of the increased number of foreigners in our area. The foreigners pay whatever price is necessary to get a property in our area. Now even houses in poorer positions and locations cost at least 200 Lakh Kyat, a two-storey house with land costs 600 Lakh Kyat and with 800 Lakh Kyat it is possible to buy a property in a better position”, said the resident.
He said most of the foreigners buying the properties in their areas are Chinese arriving from China and from the northern Burmese borders close to China.
He said that most of the local Arakanese peoples are living in poverty and there is no one wealthy enough to invest in this property boom.
The property prices especially in downtown Kyaukpru, Maday Island, Goonshein Village and Zeytiyataung Village that are situated inside the main business zone are much higher than other places in Kyaukpru Township, he said.
Similarly land prices are also jumping up in Thandwe Township as a Business company from Rangoon has recently bought land near the Kyaukkalat village group on the sea shore, which is described as being as beautiful as Ngapali sea beach.
“Last year there was no one to even one acre of land for 30 Lakh Kyat. Now a foreign company has already bought a number of acres for 200 Lakh Kyat per acre.
Other companies are also coming to study the area and as a result the land price has gradually increased," said the villager. He said the local peoples have been using the lands in the area as a means to support their livelihood and are mainly used for subsistence horticultural activities. The companies however have eyed the lands in the area due to interest in turning the area into a sea resort.
There are five villages namely Kyaukkalat, Mawrone, Maw Shwe Lay, Maw Rhay and Kon Wine in the Kyaukkalat Village Group in Thandwe Township that is situated on the Bay of Bengal. The sea shore between those villages is as beautiful as Ngapali beach in the township.
According to the local sources, some Business entrepreneurs are also trying to buy the properties in the Arakan’s Capital Sittwe which will become the main hub for the ‘Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project’, a building project undertaken by India to boost bilateral trade with Burma.
