Officials of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (Minister: H.E. Mr. Kwon, Do-Youp) attended an overseas economy ministerial meeting which took place in the afternoon of Monday, July 16, at the Central Government Complex, to discusses Korea-Myanmar construction and infrastructure cooperation strategies.

The MLTM reported at this meeting about its strategies to enter into the Myanmar construction market that is expected to rapidly grow in the years ahead when the market becomes open to the global economy.  This presentation of the MLTM was based on the results and achievements of the dispatching of a Korean construction contract facilitation delegation to Myanmar during June 19-21 this year which was headed by the Vince Minister of Construction H.E. Mr. Han, Man-hee.

First, the MLTM stated that it plans to actively support Korea companies' investment in Myanmar and their making inroads into the Myanmar market by strengthening cooperation networks between the two countries through such activities as holding of policy forums and investment presentations where Korea's infrastructure facilities will also be explained in the presence of Myanmar high ranking officials including the Ministers of the Myanmar Ministry of Construction and Ministry of Transport, all of which will be undertaken within this year.

Also, the MLTM will review the plan for participating in the PQ assessments of the Hanthawaddy New Airport Construction Project (USD 600M, BOT project) that will take place in September this year by forming a consortium composed of Korean companies led by Incheon International Airport Corporation.

In order to participate in the Yangon Sewer System Project, the MLTM decided to establish a specific plan by forming a consultative body composed of both public entities, such as the Ministry of Environment, K-Water, and private enterprises.

Another planned project is to use financial resources of the MLTM to provide assistance to the feasibility study service project for establishing the comprehensive rehabilitation plan for the Ayeyarwaddy River and the development project of the Thilawa Port to Myanmar.

* The Thilawa Port: Although it accounts for 90% or more of Myanmar's international transport along with the Yangon Port, as it is an international port 20km south of Yangon, it is navigable for only 15,000 tons or less level vessels due to its shallow water depths.

** The Ayeyarwaddy River: it is one of the key natural resources of Myanmar.  More than 2,000km-long and 3,600 square kilometers in basin area, it is in urgent need to have a large scale master plan established related to inland transport and basic research on the river in general.

From the year 2013, the MLTM will become more proactive in giving priority to the Korean companies interested in making inroads into the Myanmar construction market by assigning Overseas Market Development Funds designed to provide costs for feasibility studies and negotiation fees with the ordering organizations.  Thus, the Myanmar construction market, known to be the last treasure trove of Asia, will become the focal point of Korean overseas builders.

* In 2012, about KRW 3 billion Overseas Market Development Funds will be provided to 75 overseas projects in 36 countries.

Meanwhile, last June, Vice Minister Han, during his meetings with Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Electric Power No. 1, and the Yangon Governor, discussed ways for Korean companies to take part in diverse projects and to cooperate on such fields as construction and infrastructure, including the Yangon modernization plan and the Hanthawaddy new airport construction, which had been first discussed at the summit meeting between President Lee Myung-bak of Korea and President Thein Sein of Myanmar on May 14, 2012.

At the summit meeting, the Myanmar side asked for more active cooperation to be undertaken between the two countries by saying that it wants Korean companies to participate in a wide range of infrastructure projects on such fields as road, airport, port, hydropower plant, and sewer system projects.  Further, it also expressed its wish to host visits from Korea's Minister-rank officials to Myanmar, stating that informative training programs designed to nurture Myanmar experts in construction and infrastructure conducted by Korea would be highly desirable as well.