Construction & Real Estate

The opening of Myanmar’s economy has led to a proliferation of mega-projects in the past four years, including the upgrade of infrastructure and the expansion of utilities. The government has embarked on projects to upgrade, broaden and build a long list of facilities, ranging from roads to bridges, seaports to airports, hotels to malls, high rises to apartments and hydroelectric dams to electric plants. Evidence of the construction boom is visible throughout Myanmar, especially in Yangon, an old capital that is on an express track to becoming a modern city. The influx of foreign firms has caused a shortage of office and commercial space. With rental rates rapidly rising, a number of new projects are being launched that will market to international customers. Despite the rapid growth of the economy overall, the construction sector may see a slight slowdown as investors adopt a wait-and-see approach pending general elections in November 2015, after which Myanmar is likely to see a catch up period of intense investment in a wide range of projects.

This chapter contains interviews with Dr Khin Shwe, Chairman, Zaykabar; and Stephen Suen, Marga Group.