The bridge that will change Yangon’s real estate landscape
The bridge that will change Yangon’s real estate landscape
Roads and other infrastructure projects from the Myanmar government and foreign entities will diversify growth around the country’s largest city
With the right infrastructure projects, and a little help from the World Bank, property growth could radiate from its present concentration in downtown Yangon and onto the city’s outskirts, real estate experts told the Myanmar Times.
Most notable among these projects is a bridge that would connect Lanmadaw township in downtown Yangon to Dala township. Costing USD168.2 million, the bridge will receive financing from Myanmar’s construction ministry as well as the South Korean government through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund. Construction is reportedly set to start next year.
“Many speculators are interested in investing on the outskirts of Yangon these days,” U Aung Thu, a real estate agent in Dala township, told the Times. “In the past there was no interest because there wasn’t a bridge joining these townships to Yangon.”
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New roads have also propelled investor interest in Kawhmu township, real estate agent Ko Kyaw Naing told the Times. “In the past, it could take one day to get to downtown Yangon because there were no concrete roads. Now it’s down to three hours and if we get the Dala bridge it will be 30 minutes from Kawhmu township.”
The World Bank is also set to drive more real estate opportunities into the fringes of Yangon. Through its National Community Driven Development initiative, the institution will fund and provide technical assistance to infrastructure projects in townships across Myanmar.
“The land in these underdeveloped townships has potential for high demand, but the land price has not gone up in line with other areas,” U Aung Thu told the Times.
Bridges have galvanised growth of townships around Yangon. The recent completion of a 250-metre bridge linking downtown Yangon to Kyauktan has sparked migration to the township.
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Source: Property Report