Myanma Port Authority announced on Monday that it will build 14 more jetties at Yangon Port in addition to the 18 existing ones, a move that will effectively double freight handling, the state-run New Light of Myanmar reported on Monday.
Union Minister for Transport Nyan Tun Aung said that seven of the 14 are to be built through joint venture and foreign aid.
Calling for freight handling to be improved to meet international standards, Nyan Tun Aung said that Myanmar would become a crucial location in Southeast Asian shipping once Dawei and Kyaukphyu deep sea-ports come into operation. He noted that Yangon Jetty currently handles 85 percent of exports and imports for the whole country.
Meanwhile, according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency, Myanmar authorities have recently privatized one of the main jetties at Yangon Port by selling it to military-owned Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd for a price of over 30 billion kyat (US$35 million).
The privatized Bo Aung Kyaw Jetty, covering an area of over 4. 73 hectares, is one of five main jetties at the port which handles containers, edible oil and general cargo, the report said.
Xinhua reported on Monday that Yangon port authorities had also invited tenders to upgrade Yangon Port to meet international standards, and that a private firm named Pearl Land had been awarded the contract on a 15-year lease.
