The city project backed by China which has been mired under a lot of controversies is to be probed by Myanmar. The government of Myanmar has recently set up a tribunal team that would probe the project.
The project is being implemented by Yatai International Holdings group of China along with the BGF, the latter being reportedly supported by Myanmar’s military.
U Tin Myint, the Deputy Minister of Union Government Office in Naypyidaw on Monday stated that he had been selected to Chair the committee. This committee will investigate the Shwe Kokko city project which is 15 kms north of Myawaddy.
This project was started in the year 2017. It involved a small amount of 22.5 million dollars. This amount was allotted to construct 59 villas at Shwe Kokko. But, later on, it was reported that this project started to be carried out at a much higher scale as a ‘small international city’ than the one that was actually approved to be carried out. The company planned to construct casinos, hotels, airports, and tourism related spread over an area of 30,000 acres.
The project then got halted temporarily in 2019 as it breached investment regulations and allegations of illicit activity and lack of transparency propped up.
The Deputy Minister U Tin Myint said that Myanmar never approved any casino in the project as a part of it and this resulted in an investigation.
Media reports also cited that the project displaced many local families. The materials for the project were sourced from China or Thailand. Instead of utilizing the local workforce of Myanmar, Chinese workers have been brought in.
The Karen state has faced ethnic unrest with militant groups being active in this area.