The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- YCDC Shelves Dagon Township Highrise Projects
- Of Teachers and Tea Shops
- The Blind Tiger: Look No Further
- The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Feb. 7, 2015)
| YCDC Shelves Dagon Township Highrise Projects Posted: 06 Feb 2015 11:34 PM PST  A scale model of Dagon City 1, near the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon's north. (Photo: Marga Group) RANGOON — An international development complex worth nearly US$300 million, along with four other building projects, have been suspended while authorities consider the impact of proposed building heights on the nearby Shwedagon Pagoda. Situated on land formerly owned by the military in Dagon Township, the five projects stretch over more than 71 acres of land, sold in 2013 and 2014 for the development of a five star hotel, serviced and residential apartments, and a shopping complex. Site development of the flagship 22-acre 'Dagon City 1' project, near the U Htaung Bo roundabout and within walking distance of Shwedagon, began last year. "The project was suspended a few days ago as the buildings will have more stories than what was stated in their proposal," said Toe Aung, the director of Urban Planning Department in Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). Dagon City 1, a joint venture between the international Marga Group syndicate and local partnet Thukhayadanar, includes plans for the development of a number of eight storey residential towers, according to a press release issued in June 2014. The municipality restricts buildings in the vicinity of Shwedagon to 62 feet, or around 5-6 stories, to protect metropolitan sightlines to the national monument. It remains unclear why the YCDC has waited until this week to raise its objections to the proposal. A draft plan on zoning and land use formulated by the YCDC, which is currently the de facto framework for urban development decisions and which details restrictions on building heights near Shwedagon, was being prepared for submission to the Rangoon Division Parliament in Feb. 2014, four months before Marga Group publicly released details of its development proposal. Toe Aung told The Irrawaddy that the YCDC and Myanmar Engineering Society would reassess the projects and negotiate with developers, noting that there were other outstanding concerns that the projects would violate municipal regulations. "According to the (draft) Zoning Plan, those areas have been partially designated as green areas," he added. Local company Thukhayadanar is also the sole investor in the nearby $75 million, 7.5-acre Dagon City 2 development, itself subject to the YCDC's suspension. The identity of the other three suspended projects were not confirmed by the YCDC's Urban Planning Department. Since Burma's re-engagement with the West in 2011, Rangoon's religious and colonial-era sites have been threatened by private commercial interests seeking land for high-rise and modern developments to a city long neglected by the former military regime and shunned by international investors. The World Monuments Fund in 2013 put Burma's largest city on its watchlist of places "at risk from the forces of nature and the impact of social, political, and economic change." In December 2014, a group Burmese urban planning and heritage experts sent an open letter to President Thein Sein, requesting the suspension of construction projects planned or already underway at Rangoon's heritage sites, including the downtown grid and the area around Shwedagon. The letter warned that such developments could threaten urban landscapes and displace city dwellers. suspend construction projects planned or already under way at Rangoon's heritage sites, such as the area surrounding Shwedagon Pagoda and the historic downtown core. A PR Officer for Marga Group told The Irrawaddy that the project had already been approved by the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC), and a statement would be released shortly. MIC officials were not available for comment. The post YCDC Shelves Dagon Township Highrise Projects appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| Posted: 06 Feb 2015 05:00 PM PST  A tea shop in Rangoon. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) I thought of them often when I was in exile, and they sometimes came to my dreams. After my immediate family members, friends and teachers from my high school days were the people I missed most as the years away rolled on. Recently I was glad to be able to attend our high school reunion. I wanted to pay respects to the teachers I had not seen in more than 25 years. I was excited to go, but I wasn't sure quite what to expect. To my relief, many of the teachers who had taught me subjects like geography, math, history, economics and English were still alive. One arrived in a wheelchair. Others used walking sticks and were aided by assistants. They were in high spirits, though some shed a discreet tear. "Where have you been?" one teacher asked me. After finishing school, I had disappeared for decades. For a long time, it had seemed that I would never come home. The teachers accepted donations and presents from their former students and in return they offered us their best wishes. It was all a little emotional. In Myanmar style, there was a bit of warm commotion amid talk filled with memory and laughing. It was a time to reflect back, and to share tentative hopes. Looking around me, at a time when religious intolerance is increasingly evident, I felt grateful to have had teachers of many religious backgrounds—Christian, Buddhist and Muslim. I looked for, but did not find, an old friend from sixth grade who was a Karen, like most of our English teachers. To my surprise, the last time I bumped into him was on the Thai-Myanmar border where he had become a soldier. I believe he later moved to the United States. After we had paid our respects, the teachers, who were in their 70s and 80s, began to head home. I chased down a teacher who had taught me economics and whose classes had partly involved learning the benefits of Gen. Ne Win's socialist economic policy, even as we students could see its failures plainly outside the classroom! I remembered she had always asked certain pupils, including myself, to carry her traditional rattan basket filled with teaching materials and lunch containers. To be allowed to carry the basket had been a special honor; it meant you were one of her favorites. She was still energetic and she looked at me with a wide smile. I joked, "I became a rebel after taking your class! Thank you!" She giggled and walked on to her car. Some of the teachers seemed more guarded and weary. They seemed uncertain, even sad; I speculated whether they were perhaps missing students who had never come home after dying on the streets.  Aung Zaw is the founding editor-in-chief of The Irrawaddy. One of my favorite teachers, who taught math in ninth grade, was in a wheelchair. My schoolmates told me she had often asked about me after I left Myanmar following the political turmoil in 1988. Now in her 80s, she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "You finally came home!" I was thrilled to see that teachers of her age were still with us, and keeping themselves strong and healthy. A former headmaster in his late 80s did not recognize me at first, but when I mentioned my grandparents' names, his jaw dropped. "They were my friends. Your grandfather and I played football together!" he said. I made sure to take his picture to show my grandmother who lives with me back home. A history teacher who followed the news closely was more forthcoming. In quiet tones she confided that she thought the current political opening in Myanmar was significant. But "we have to move gingerly, slowly," she said, as if warning me not to expect too much in the immediate future. I asked her about the history we had learned in class, particularly about the ethnic regions and civil conflict. "You know,'' she said, ''we taught what the government told us to teach." It came home to me that just as we were taught not to ask critical questions, but to obey and extend respect, our teachers were under similar pressures. A friend told me that our former physical training (PT) teacher had recently passed away. We had always enjoyed his class in which we could roam around outside in the fresh air. I remember he was tall and handsome and had sold snacks to students to earn some extra income. He was a police sergeant in active service, but he would come to school in casual wear. Some students wondered if he was a spy assigned to watch over us. But he was friendly and one of our favorites. In those days teachers were afraid to discuss political matters. Other subjects, such as sex, were also taboo—we were supposed to be polite! Of course in the school bathrooms you could find indecent writing scrawled on the walls, as well as anti-government slogans. When I reached the ninth grade, I started skipping classes in favor of sitting in tea shops where I began to catch onto other matters: mainly smoking and politics. Tea shops were a learning ground for dreamers and planners. The young me felt I was among intellectuals, people who thought big in ways that stirred the mind, people who were more imaginative and progressive than our school teachers. The tea shops were the kind of places that nurtured revolutionaries and radicals, where strategies were debated that could change the ruling order. Many of my female friends remained dutifully in the classroom, hoping to go on to become doctors or engineers. Few considered journalism as a career. But those female students were also our messengers. They would bring us gossip, as well as inform us of our teachers' reaction to our absence. Later on in Yangon I bumped into yet another former teacher, who is now in her 60s. Her husband was a well-known literature guru and a former political prisoner who spent years behind bars. "It's lucky that you are back here, but I must tell you this," she warned. "Never get involved in politics because you will always suffer. You will never win. They are not kind-hearted people and they show no humanity!'' I felt she must offer the same kind of thoughts to her older husband who was resting at home. He was a poet who taught us to be more critical, and a bit more rebellious. He encouraged us to read literature such as Dostoyevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov," John Steinbeck's "Tortilla Flat," and Jack London's "The Sea Wolf." And he steered us towards poetry, including the works of W.B. Yeats When we finally made it to college, we were exposed to other young and progressive professors and tutors who were bookworms and politically-minded. Unlike in the high school days, we shared similar thinking with these figures; namely, the view that we were governed by a bunch of uneducated dictators who were adept at manipulation, repression and guns. We felt as though we were going to hell if we didn't revolt. And then the time to say "no" came in the form of the 1988 uprising, and many of the friends and teachers I knew ended up serving long jail sentences. Those teachers, friends and mentors from school, college and the tea shops helped shape the person I have become. Today the dilapidated buildings and classrooms of my former high school in a Yangon suburb appear much the same as they did 25 years ago. But at the school, amid our reunion, I also sensed a new spirit and a feeling of anticipation. Some young students came up to me and talked and posed for pictures. They mentioned my writings and my TV programs covering political matters. And as I looked back to the 1980s, and I looked at them, I could not but hope for a more promising future. Aung Zaw is the founding editor-in- chief of The Irrawaddy. This article originally appeared in the Feb. 2015 issue of The Irrawaddy Magazine. The post Of Teachers and Tea Shops appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| The Blind Tiger: Look No Further Posted: 06 Feb 2015 04:31 PM PST  The Blind Tiger bar. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — If you're going to go on a date at the Blind Tiger, bring someone you like. The cocktails are spicy enough that a single splash on someone's face will burn to high heaven. Skip past the Spiked Tiger on the menu and ask the Thai mixologist, Addy, to whip you up a 'Burma Strawberry.' Be sure to nod your head and wai him in anticipatory gratitude. At first, this strawberry and chili infused vodka cocktail is sweet and refreshing. It then turns punishing, with a kick strong enough to surprise but that's just shy of overdone. Not for the faint of heart—or stomach—it ranks alongside Gekko's 'Horse's Neck' for best cocktail in Rangoon. It's a great start to a night. After all, a speakeasy should have good drinks. Owner Sophie Barry was a camerawoman for most of her life and owned the Mexican-themed 'La Cantina' in Kabul from 2009 till 2011. She settled in Rangoon to be close to her sister, and quickly realized that the Yaw Min Gyi neighborhood desperately needed a good bar. When she stumbled into the old cyber café that used to sit on the ground floor of United Condo, Sophie embraced the concept of a speakeasy and set out to fully soundproof the walls. After arriving at the nondescript building that sits on the corner of Nawaday and Alain Pyar Road, visitors have to 'follow the paws' on the graffiti-filled walls of the ground floor and navigate a couple tricky hallways to then knock on the heavy wooden door marked only by the image of a tiger smoking a cigarette. The eyes of one of the many Burmese bartenders—many of whom previously worked in Dubai—will peep through the eyehole before welcoming guests inside. The venue itself is a mixture of dark and luxurious, with sparkly bead curtains and provocative art contrasting nicely with the Bordeaux walls and heavy wooden furniture. All in all, it's easy to settle in for the night and allow the music and the hours to pass you by, only to be jolted back to reality by the sudden realization that the bathroom is talking to you, in which case, don't worry: It's not the alcohol, but the speakers installed to play a looped recording about the history of speakeasies while patrons, well, take care of business. Open till 10:30pm, the kitchen at The Blind Tiger caters to all degrees of hunger, from the 'I'll just have a few dainty garlic shrimps with my ginger mojito' to the 'I'm desperate; bring me a burger large enough to feed a small family, please.' The half-burger, an upcoming addition to the menu, is still quite a mouthful, and is served in a brioche bun accompanied by a bounty of caramelized onions, bacon, and your choice of cheese (camembert, blue cheese, cheddar) and sauces, of which there are too many to choose from. It hits all the right notes and definitely stands out among other Rangoon burger offerings, though it could have been juicier. Other highlights on the menu include the meatballs—rich and flavorful—and the crab cakes. Don't leave without trying the crab cakes, which are absolutely sublime, though the portion size is a little too European. Consider yourself forewarned: with its insulated soundproofed walls that block out not only noise, but also traffic, cell reception, heat and the changing skies, The Blind Tiger lends itself to arriving early, staying for dinner, loosing track of time, and stumbling back to greet a new dawn with a fuller belly and a lighter wallet, the soul all the merrier for it. The post The Blind Tiger: Look No Further appeared first on The Irrawaddy. | |
| The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Feb. 7, 2015) Posted: 06 Feb 2015 04:00 PM PST Development Banks Refute Claims They Will Fund Coal Power Station The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank have denied a Burmese firm's claim that they will partly finance a coal-fired power station on the coast near Pathein. The A1 Group of Companies said it and a Japanese consortium including major corporation Mitsubishi would fund 30% of the Nga Yoke Kaung plant's development cost and the rest of the money would come from ADB and World Bank loans. "The ADB is not associated with the mentioned coal-fired power project and ADB is not considering involvement in any coal-fired power project in Myanmar [Burma]," the bank's external relations officer Alex Nyi Nyi Aung told The Irrawaddy in an emailed statement. The ADB would make no further comment on the A1 Group. "The World Bank is not and has no plans investing into coal plants in Myanmar [Burma]," the bank's communications officer Meriem Gray told The Irrawaddy. The consortium, which includes the Ministry of Electric Power, has said the plant would have a generating capacity of 300 megawatts and coal to fuel it would be imported via a purpose-built port. A power plant of that size usually costs several hundred million dollars. Local residents oppose the development plan. Mitsubishi has said it would pay for some local people to visit Japan to see how coal-fired power plants operate near Japanese residential areas in order to allay concerns. China to Spend $24bn on Yunnan Province Infrastructure Burma's economy is about to face stiff competition for investment from the neighbouring Chinese province of Yunnan, according to an industry report. Yunnan is currently the third poorest of China's 31 provinces, with per capita income of only US$4,050 in 2014, oil and petrochemicals magazine ICIS reported. The Chinese central government is spending over US$24 billion in Yunnan to improve the province's infrastructure, including 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) of new highways. The aim is to make Yunnan a key component of Beijing's plans for a so-called New Silk Road, analyst John Richardson said in an ICIS report on the province's development. "China will increasingly buy basic raw materials, such as oil and gas, from its less-developed neighbors. It will then re-export finished or semi-finished goods, such as chemicals and polymers, to these neighbouring countries," Richardson said. Yunnan's geographical position connects its borders directly with Vietnam, Laos and Burma, and via the River Mekong with Thailand and Cambodia. In addition to the twin crude oil and gas pipelines now operating from the coast of Arakan State into Yunnan, China is continuing negotiations with Naypyidaw to expand its oil transhipment port at Kyaukphyu, which it also wants to link to Yunnan by railway. New Dawei Port-Industrial Plan a Result of 'Pressure from Thailand' A leading economist specializing on Burma is "very sceptical" about the benefits to the country of a port and petrochemicals complex at Dawei on the southeast coast proposed by Thailand. A new agreement on a special economic zone at Dawei will be signed in March, Reuters quoted Thailand's Deputy Transport Minister Arkhom Termittayapaisit as saying last week, after a meeting of Bangkok and Naypyidaw government officials. Bangkok has been attempting to revive the Dawei project for two years, after construction firm Italian-Thai Development (ITD) failed to find financial partners to back a contract it obtained under Burma's former military government. "I confess to remaining very sceptical about Dawei. Pressure for it seems to come more or less exclusively from Thailand, even though the [Burma] government seems happy to play along, as an indicator perhaps of progress and investor interest," economist and professor at Australia's Macquarie University Sean Turnell told The Irrawaddy. "One gets the feeling that Japan continues to be dragged to it and to only make enough encouraging noises to keep dreams alive." ITD will partner with Rojana Industrial Park Company in a first phase Dawei development agreement to be signed in March, Reuters quoted Arkhom saying. Rojana is a Thai-Japanese joint venture firm based in Bangkok comprising Vinichbutr Group and Nippon Steel & Sumikin Bussan Corporation, a Japanese conglomerate involved in infrastructure developments, textiles and foods. Central Bank Builds Closer Ties with Singapore Singapore is seeking to further strengthen its financial links with Burma following a visit to Naypyidaw by the city-state's senior minister, Goh Chok Tong. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on February 3 to "cooperate on banking supervision and capacity building," said Singapore's Channel News Asia (CNA). It will involve the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Burma's central bank. "The MoU reflects longstanding bilateral relations that have deepened in recent years," said a joint statement quoted by CNA. Two Singaporean banks, the Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation United Overseas Bank, are among nine foreign banks that have been given limited licenses to operate in Burma. Singaporean banks had close dealings with Burma during the military regime era and military-linked funds were often rumoured to have been deposited in Singapore. Local Firm Wins Country's 'First Helicopter Service License' Air Myanmar Aviation Services has been awarded Burma's first regular helicopter service licence by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), the Xinhua Chinese news agency said. "[Burma] is upgrading its aviation business in a bid to boost the air transport sector amid growing tourist arrivals in the country year-on-year," Xinhua said. The company will use two AS350 B3 helicopters providing a service "to airports and other designated heliports in the country." The Naypyidaw government has announced plans to privatise 30 airports but in January said this plan would be postponed until later this year or 2016. The DCA said the delay was due to continuing negotiations with companies bidding to manage Burma's international airports. The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Feb. 7, 2015) appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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