Myanmar Japan Thilawa Development Limited (MJTD) today announced that plots for the Zone B second phase covering 77 hectares of the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (Thilawa SEZ) will be available for sale in July this year. This will bring the total operating area in Thilawa SEZ up to 583 hectares, and open up more opportunities for businesses to further invest in the fast-growing economic zone.

Located on the South-West area of Yangon, the biggest commercial city of Myanmar, Thilawa SEZ is the first development of its kind in the country. In-line with the top facilites offered throughout the SEZ, the new second phase of its Zone B provides locators international-standard infrastructure - from roads and utilities to supporting services such as maintenance.

Six years ago, a deal was signed to develop Thilawa SEZ between Myanmar and Japan, and it has since flourished since beginning operations in 2015. By June 8, Thilawa SEZ had 20,000 staff and a total investment amount of over 1.4 billion from 17 countries with 94 investments across various sectors with these numbers expected to grow. Myanmar notably has a sizable labor force and untapped areas for growth, which has been a focus for successfully attracting worldwide manufacturers.

Among other major locators in the zone, Japanese steel maker JFE Meranti Myanmar, which is a joint venture of Japanese giant steel manufacturer was the first and major manufacturer of steel in Myanmar. The ground-breaking ceremony was officiated by JFE Meranti Myanmar and was attended by honourable guests including Myanmar Vice President, Minister of Commerce, Prime Minister of Yangon Regional Government and representatives from JFE Meranti in March 2018 and was marked as the latest milestone in Thilawa SEZ investment history. The investment decision from the company was secured upon positive review of the infrastructure development surrounding Thilawa SEZ, and was supported by  the Japanese Official Development Assistance office. Thilawa power plant completed in 2016 and the substation also began operation in February two years later and this connection to the national grid not only enabled the capacity increase but improved the fluctuation as well.

“The opening of the latest phase of Thilawa SEZ’s Zone B, is yet another positive milestone in our objective to spur economic industrial growth in Myanmar. Among the total development area of 583 hectares, 49 locators have started the operations, 31 are under factory construction and over 90 locators will have been started the operations within the next two years. This has been a great achievement and a strong sign of investment interest in the zone and the region,” said Mr. Tomoyasu Shimizu, President of MJTD.

Noteworthy major events recorded since the previous financial year quarter from April 2017, include the factory construction of JFE-Meranti March earlier this year, a development of Zone B phase two in December 2017 and the operations of Suzuki Myanmar in January 2018 and Acecook Myanmar in April 2017. JFE-Meranti steel committed to invest USD 100 million in November 2017, to galvanize and color steel sheets in Thilawa SEZ. The Myanmar government expects that JFE-Meranti will be able to meet the demand of steel production in the country.

For further enquiries about available plots for sale and investment in Thilawa SEZ, companies may contact (sales@mjtd.com.mm).