Deserted Asian capital may finally start to come alive thanks to China, expected to be first country to open an embassy there
- Naypyidaw’s motorways are almost always empty, giving city the feel of an eerie film set, but once China moves its embassy to Myanmar capital others may follow
- Until now, getting diplomats and civil servants to leave the comforts of Yangon has been all but impossible, as city lacks public transport and other amenities
When Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Myanmar last month he may have been impressed by the government’s tight control over traffic in Naypyidaw.
“They closed off six roads in the capital for three to four hours, before and after his arrival, and for hours during trips to the hotel,” says a Myanmar employee of a multilateral organisation with an office in Naypyidaw. “This would have been impossible in Yangon,” he adds.
Not that it made much difference. Naypyidaw’s six-lane motorways – and one 20-lane boulevard – are almost empty most of the time.
Fifteen years after it was announced that Naypyidaw – or “Abode of the King” – would replace Yangon as the country’s capital, the city still has the feel of an eerie film set, waiting for the actors to arrive and for shooting to start. However, there are signs that the place is coming to life, but slowly.
The diplomatic community, for one, may be finding it more difficult to avoid a presence in the capital since China opened a liaison office in Naypyidaw in 2016. It was the first country to establish a permanent presence there, and will probably be the first to open a fully fledged embassy there, something likely to happen soon.