Maung Sar Ga, Narinjara News, 22 February 2025 

In spite of continuous conflicts with the Arakan Army (AA) in Kyaukpyu, Arakan State, the Myanmar military intends to proceed with the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and deep-sea port initiative. 

According to junta-controlled newspapers released on February 22, a coordination meeting regarding the prerequisites that need to be fulfilled by Myanmar and Chinese state-owned CITIC took place at 9 a.m. on February 21 in Meeting Hall 1 of the Ministry of Commerce in Naypyidaw to execute such projects. 

During the meeting, Dr. Kan Zaw, the Chairman of the Myanmar Special Economic Zone Central Working Committee and the Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations, mentioned that the concession agreement was established in 2020 between the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone Management Committee and Kyaukpyu SEZ Deep Seaport Co Ltd, which is a subsidiary of China's CITIC Group. An amendment to the concession agreement was executed in 2023, prolonging the Long Stop Date by 18 months. 

The prolonged Long Stop Date will expire in June 2025. Dr. Kan Zaw highlighted that the objective is to finish the project ahead of that deadline, making it crucial to achieve the completion goals within the specified time frame.

Union Minister for Commerce U Tun Ohn, also the Vice-Chairman of the Myanmar Special Economic Zone Central Working Committee, elaborated that, as per the Shareholders' Agreement for the Kyaukpyu SEZ deep-sea port initiative, Myanmar is required to meet 10 conditions, with four needing to be jointly fulfilled by Myanmar and China. He emphasized that the appropriate departments need to set timelines and guarantee that the tasks are finalized before the extended deadline concludes. 

Key officials were present at the meeting, such as Dr. Kan Zaw, U Tun Ohn, who is the Chairman of the Arakan State Farmland Management Committee, the Chief Minister of Arakan State, the Deputy Minister of Commerce, along with officials from the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone Management Committee and other associated departments. 

The Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone and deep-sea port are intended to span 4,289.32 acres of land encompassing 35 villages within 9 village-tracts of Kyaukpyu Township. 

Chinese state-owned CITIC has secured the contract to develop and build the Kyaukpyu SEZ and deep-water port. 

The SEZ will include three key projects: the Kyaukpyu Deep Sea Port, an Industrial Zone, and a Residential Zone, starting with the development of the deep-sea port. 

The deep-sea port initiative will be built on 370 acres of land on Maday Island and 237 acres on Ramree Island, both situated to the east of Kyaukpyu. 

The overall expense of the deep-sea port initiative is projected to hit US$7.3 billion, as indicated by reports from the Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar (ISP-Myanmar), an independent research organization.