New airport set for take-off

Construction on Hanthawaddy International Airport will begin in September after the tender is awarded late this month, the Department of Civil Aviation said.

U Kyaw Soe, director general of the Directorate of Airport Standards, Supervision and Inspection, said four consortiums have submitted final bids and that two would be chosen: one as the lead and another as a supporting developer.

The four applicants are Singapore’s Yongnam-CAPE- JGC Consortium, France’s VINCI Airport Consortium, Japan’s Taisei Consortium and South Korea’s Incheon Airport Consortium. U Kyaw Soe said the length of the contract was not yet confirmed, but the airport will be constructed as quickly as possible.

The project, located 77 kilometres north of Yangon airport, is expected to cost US$600 million and take five- and-a-half years to complete. It will span 9690 acres and be able to handle more than 10 million passengers a year initially.

Capacity could later be expanded to 30 million if the government’s ambitions for the site are realised.

U Kyaw Soe said that the airport “will become the heart of Asia Pacific”.

Myanmar currently has two international airports, in Yangon and Mandalay. Both are set for major upgrades. 

source: The Myanmar Times
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/7356-new-airport-set-for-take-off.html