Construction permits for Thilawa Special Economic Zone will be granted by July, U Set Aung, chairman of Thilawa SEZ Management Committee, said.
Most of the countries seeking permit are from Asia, he added.
A total of 45 companies from 11 countries have currently applied for permits for the 394-hectare (960 acres) Class A area, which went on sale last month for manufacturing enterprises as the first stage of the project.
“Majority of the applicant companies are from Japan, followed by Hong Kong. Only one US company and three Swedish companies have submitted proposal to lease land,” U Set Aung, who is also the Vice President of Central Bank of Myanmar, said.
“Among ASEAN countries, most proposals came from Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Currently, we are scrutinising the applications and we will grant construction permits by next month,” he said.
Investors who want to lease land inside the project area are allowed to get the land on a 50-year lease with $70 per square metre, a source from the Thilawa SEZ Public Company said.
Companies need to submit business and investment plans to get the land and the board will base their decisions depending on the plans, he added.
“We will decide based on the structure of the factory and how they are going to use those lands. There is no time limit for the construction of the factory. We will also check their commercial operation plan,” U Set Aung said.
