Yingluck, Thein Sein sign pact

11/10/2012 at 08:00 AM  

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Myanmar president Thein Sein are set to announce a joint partnership to support the Dawei deep-sea port megaproject at the Asean Summit in mid-November.

Surapong: Six sectors to be developed

Ms Yingluck directed ministers on Tuesday to accelerate planning in six sectors related to the Dawei project. Located in southern Myanmar, plans call for the creation of a special economic zone near the city with sea, land and rail links to Thailand. Construction giant Italian-Thai Development is the lead investor in the project.
Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said the six sectors are infrastructure, industrial development, electricity and energy, business development, financial services and social and community development.
The Thai government will call a meeting to discuss the six sectors this month, with details to be concluded ahead of the Asean Summit, he said.
On Tuesday, the Thai cabinet approved the proposed establishment of three joint Myanmar-Thailand committees to work on development of the Dawei project and related areas in the east of Myanmar. Mr Surapong said China, Japan and South Korea have shown interest in the project because it will be new location for industrial development in the region.
Mr Kittiratt said the Thai government is committed to completing logistics development worth about 300 billion baht a year to link Asean over the next seven years. The projects include high-speed trains, rail and roads to connect Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and southern China along with infrastructure development at various border checkpoints.
Pansak Vinyaratn, an adviser to Ms Yingluck, said earlier a joint venture including stakeholders from Thailand, Myanmar and Japan will be set up to handle investment in Dawei and build confidence. Mr Pansak said the leaders of Thailand and Myanmar have agreed on a special-purpose vehicle company to manage the project.
He acknowledged the Thai government may be called upon to support infrastructure projects at Dawei financially but said it will likely be only seed money.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/316424/