Seven consortiums prequalified to tender for a contract to upgrade, operate and manage Mandalay International Airport as part of a public-private venture.Great expectation in terms of traffic’s rise is expected at Myanmar’s second largest international airport.
YANGON-The Ministry of Transport’s Department of Civil Aviation announced the list of seven consortiums, selected from 16 applicants, in the Monday, December 17 edition of the state-run New Light of Myanmar.
The consortiums feature two to five companies, with at least one foreign and one Myanmar firm, and the seven were chosen based on “financial experience, experience record, qualified personnel and equipment resources”.
Among the companies seeking to win the tender are the operators of Munich, Dublin and Phnom Penh airports, along with many of Myanmar well established construction companies such as Htoo Construction and Asia World. Three firms linked to U Serge Pun are in the running across two consortiums, as are Shwe Than Lwin and Shwe Taung Development.
A Yangon-based civil aviation consultant told to local newspaper “Myanmar Times” that the relative transparency of the tender process was a positive step forward for the Ministry of Transportation. U Win Swe Tun, deputy director general of the Department of Civil Aviation, said the tender was fair because it had been managed by a consulting firm from Japan.
It is not known when the winner will be announced but U Win Swe Tun said the tender would “hopefully” be finalised by the start of the 2013-14 financial year, which begins on April 1.
The final selection process will be undertaken by a committee headed by Minister for Transport U Nyan Tun Aung.
According to the government, Mandalay International Airport is capable of handling three million passengers a year but receives just a handful of international flights a week. While it was only completed in 2000, the airport already needs significant upgrades to its electrical and water systems, runway and runway lighting, according to the Department of Civil Aviation.
However, some argue it is in a position to benefit from both its geographically fortuitous location and Myanmar’s uptick of foreign visitors.
“In 10 years Mandalay could be a regional hub on level with Singapore or Bangkok,” the Yangon-based consultant said, noting that nearly 500 flights pass over Myanmar daily but never touch down.
According to the Asian Development Bank, international visitor arrivals were up by more than 25 percent in 2011, and the annual number of visitors is expected to top the one million mark this year.
Though the majority of the company’s projects are marine related, CHEC, a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company, has previously acquired experience in Myanmar’s aviation sector. The company constructed Myanmar’s largest airport, Nay Pyi Taw International Airport. The US$100 million airport opened in December 2011.
Asia World is heading up the refurbishment and expansion of Yangon International Airport. The expansion will up the yearly passenger capacity to 3.7 million from 2.7 million. The work is scheduled to be completed in 2015.
AVIC International Holdings Corporation is anchored by AVIC International of China. the Yunnan Airport Group, also of China and Shwe Than Lwin of Myanmar round out the consortium. Yunnan Airport Group operates 12 airports in Yunnan Province, on the border of northern Myanmar.
VINCI Airport comprises VINCI of France, Muhibbah Engineering of Malaysia and Shwe Taung Development Co of Myanmar. VINCI’s prior experience in the ASEAN region comes from Cambodia. It is the concession company for Cambodia’s three international airports, in Phnom Penh, the country’s largest city and capital; Siem Reap, home to the Angkor Wat temple complex; and Sihanoukville on Cambodia’s coastline.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
