The Department of Inland Water Transport in western Burma's Arakan State is gearing up to privatize the main inland harbour on Satrokya Creek in capital Sittwe, said a harbor  official on Thursday.

"Since last January, the authorities have been working on the details of the harbour, including data of all official staff, shipmen, and labourers, with an eye on privatizing the harbour," he told Narinjara on condition of anonymity.

It is also rumored that any worker with less than 10 years of service would be dismissed and any worker above the age of 50 would be given pension before handing over the harbour to a private company, he added.

The Sittwe Harbour has over 1,000 workers, including officials and shipmen.The harbor also has an additional shipyard for ship repair.
Sittwe Harbour still plays an important role in inland transportation in coastal Arakan, with an abundance of rivers and creeks where road infrastructure is poor.

Currently, there are nearly 30 passenger-cum-cargo ships plying on the routes between the capital Sittwe and other towns such as Mrauk-U, Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, and Taungup.

"It is not known yet to which private company the authorities will hand it over to, but one of the ships named Aungthakhon-1, which operates between Sittwe and Taungup, was already given to U Kyauk Taung's Company two years ago," the official added.

Following its plans to privatize public businesses across the country before the election this year, the Burmese junta has already given some of the petrol pumps, cinema halls, land, and one airline to the private sector.

According to local officials, the military authorities also plans to privatize the Myoma Cinema Hall and public warehouses in Sittwe, as well as many other public factories and industries across Arakan State.