“It would be better if they can provide fishermen with suitable employment such as daily wage-based jobs or skill-based jobs.” “Fishermen like us will definitely go out of business because ships and vessels will be entering the port everyday,” he said. Some 70% of Maday’s population of about 3,000 people fish to earn a living.Ī fisherman from Maday’s Ywar Ma village, who also declined to be named, echoed concerns about the local fishing industry, which he said “will face major difficulties” because of the project. If they cannot create jobs for us, we are going to face a lot of difficulties.” “People who rely on the sea for their livelihoods like us are going to face a lot of trouble then. “If the projects proceed, Maday Island residents will not even be able to access the river because of the deep sea ports,” a resident of Kyauktan village on Maday Island told RFA Burmese, speaking on condition of anonymity. They say the projects will upset their livelihoods while generating cash the junta uses to maintain its grip on power and oppress the people.Īctivists have long campaigned for a halt to the deep sea port, saying that the project was started without the consensus of residents and has failed to address the concerns of local fishermen, who say it will impact area fish stocks and cut off access to key bodies of water. Credit: Soe Zeya Tun/Reutersīut while Myanmar authorities promise that such projects will bring opportunities to the communities where they are located, residents are less sure. Local fishermen’s houses and boats at the foreground of the Chinese oil pipeline project building on Maday island, Kyaukpyu township, Rakhine state, Myanmar Oct. The zone’s US$7.3 billion-dollar port project will be built in three phases and encompass 370 acres of land on Maday Island and 237 acres on neighboring Ramree Island. On May 24, Chinese Ambassador Cheng Hai urged junta Legal Affairs Minister Thidar Oo to speed ahead with the US$1.3 billion special economic zone, which is expected to begin construction following the completion of an environmental and social impact assessment in July. The Kyaukphyu deep sea port and special economic zone is one of several China-backed megaprojects in Myanmar, along with the New Yangon City urban planning project, the Mee Lin Gyaing Energy Project in Ayeyarwady region and the Letpadaung Copper Mine in Sagaing region.
China is racing to complete a deep sea port project in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state, despite concerns from residents who rely on the area’s waterways and say it will destroy their livelihoods.
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