Myanmar signs smaller Chinese port deal amid ‘debt trap’ fears
- First phase of the project to cost US$1.3 billion, after earlier proposals had set aside US$7.3 billion
- But officials raised concern after reports that Chinese-backed projects in Sri Lanka and Pakistan had entangled those countries in debt
Myanmar has signed an agreement with China’s state-run Citic Group to begin work on a deep-sea port in the west of the country, after negotiations that saw the initial phase of the project scaled back over fears of a “debt trap”.
Myanmar Deputy Minister of Planning and Finance Set Aung said on Thursday that Myanmar and Citic signed a “framework agreement” for the port in Kyauk Pyu, in conflict-hit coastal Rakhine State.
“We estimate the total cost of the first phase of the project will be US$1.3 billion,” he told reporters at a signing ceremony in the capital, Naypyidaw.
Myanmar’s previous military-backed administration awarded Citic a tender in 2015 to develop a deep water port and special economic zone with a combined price tag of nearly US$10 billion.
Thursday’s agreement covers the construction of two deep water berths, said Set Aung, who was chosen to lead negotiations for the government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi that came to power in 2016.
