The construction of the airport, which was started by the government of U Thein Sein, has faced numerous delays.
A consortium led by Singapore’s Yongnam Holdings won the US$1.5 billion bid to build the airport in 2014 after the deal was cancelled with Incheon International Airport Corporation, but it is still under negotiation. The consortium includes JCG Corporation of Japan and Changi Airport Planners and Engineers of Singapore.
When completed, the airport is expected to serve 12 million passengers a year initially and help ease overcrowding at Yangon International Airport.
The Hanthawaddy International Airport was first imagined in the early 1990s, but the project was put on hold in 2004. When discussions resumed in 2013, officials said it would be ready by 2016.
A consortium comprised of Singapore’s Yongnam Holdings, Changi Airport Planners and Engineers, and Japan’s JGC Corporation was selected by the Ministry of Transport to build the airport, which is located on a 9000-acre (3642-hectare) site in Bago Region, around 77 kilometres (48 miles) northeast of Yangon.
When complete, the airport is set to become Myanmar’s largest, with the capacity to handle up to 12 million passengers a year.
In 2014, Myanmar received 3.08 million international visitors, according to data from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. The ministry has high expectations for the next five years – targeting 4.5 to 5 million arrivals in 2015 and 7.5 million by 2020,
In the meantime, a consortium led by Pioneer Aerodrome Services, a subsidiary of Asia World, was selected in August 2013 to overhaul Yangon International Airport and increase its capacity from 2.7 million to 6 million passengers a year, by 2015.
Source: Myanmar Times