Myanmar and China signed an agreement regarding the Kyauk Phyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Deep-Sea Port Project. The project is part of the Belt and Road initiative, while its first phase will cost about $1.3 billion.
According to Xinhua news agency, the Kyauk Phyu SEZ is part of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, and its aim is to benefit Myanmar and boost the ties between the two countries. The project will also play an important role in advancing the regional connectivity.
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The multi-billion-dollar deep sea port will be built in Myanmar’s Kyauk Phyu town along the Bay of Bengal. Based on the agreement between Myanmar and China’s CITIC Group, two berths will be built, while it follows negotiations between the two countries, which were originally planning to establish ten berths.
The project will be implemented in four stages.
Before the signing of the agreement, earlier discussions would raise the cost for the creation of the port to $7.3 billion. This deal did not continue because Myanmar was worried about the high costs of Chinese-backed projects in Sri Lanka and Pakistan that had put the countries in debt.
