Myanmar's poor infrastructure holds it back but Hong Kong firms see opportunities

Myanmar's backward infrastructure threatens to create a bottleneck, holding back the country's rapid development. But for Hong Kong companies fresh from helping transform mainland China over the past 30 years, it adds up to opportunity.

The 320-kilometre bus ride from the commercial centre of Yangon to Naypyidaw, the new capital carved out of the jungle by the junta in the past decade, takes 6-1/2 hours. But traffic jams are not to blame for the slow pace. On the contrary, traffic is only seen occasionally on the main route between the old and new capitals. Rather, substandard construction techniques are to blame for the slow, sometimes bumpy ride.

"The road surface is the result of the uneven settlement of the building material and substandard construction skills," says Kuok Hoi-sang, vice-chairman and managing director of Chevalier Group, a Hong Kong-based international company with interests in Myanmar, including in construction.

Naypyidaw is an oversized city with a handful of hotel resorts sitting alongside an eight-lane main road. The absence of traffic makes the road look even wider, and provides a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of pedestrians and vehicles in Yangon.

The sizeable hotels of Naypyidaw look beautiful from the outside - but take a closer look and you will discover a very primitive interior design, echoing the lack of building technique in the country, Kuok says.

The military government relocated the administration from Yangon to Naypyidaw overnight in 2005, reportedly in an attempt to strengthen its control over the country, taking advantage of the new capital's central yet isolated location.