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The Kayin State government is calling tenders for building the first shopping mall in the state capital of Hpa-an, a senior planning official said. U Than Naing, minister of the municipality as well as of the planning and finance departments of the state government, said the project was planned to be built within a two-and-a-half-year period. “It will be the very first shopping mall in Kayin. The state government plans to build it before 2020,” he said. “The tender process is starting now and will be managed by the Tender Cooperating Committee for a month. Both local and foreign investors can apply,” U Than Naing added. The state government also welcomes investors in other businesses such as private hospitals, clinics, international-standard hotels, and travel and tour businesses in Kayin, he said. Hpa-an people have to go Mawlamyine, the capital of Mon State, or Mae Sot, the border city in Thailand, for health, education and trade activities. Saw Aung Min, a resident of Hpa-an township, said there have been no local businesses in Kayin for the past several decades because of fighting in the surrounding area. “I’m glad to hear that the first shopping mall will be built in Kayin, and other infrastructure projects are planned by the state government. I hope that our state develops likes Yangon and other commercial cities within two years,” he said. The shopping mall will be built on 3.34 acres of land near the old highway bus station of Hpa-an. The tender closing date is May 15, and over 20 applicants want to invest in the project, according to the Tender Cooperating Committee. The main business of the state is agriculture, community-based tourism and border-trading. The Myawaddy border post in the state is the second biggest of Myanmar’s 15 border trading posts and is the main border crossing between Thailand and Myanmar. The border-crossing is a major route for the export of gems, which is a major product of Myanmar. According to Thailand’s Chamber of Commerce, monthly trade between the two countries through the Mae Sot-Myawaddy crossing was worth over US$90 million in 2015. |
