Public land lease

Looking from the West to the East, the North to the South, large-scale development continues apace across Southeast Asia, leaving a toll on people whether or not it is linked to ambitious plans proposed in Asean frameworks. On June12, Cambodian villagers had travelled a long distance and across the border ...

During the Mekong Migration Network (MMN) and Asian Institute of Technology’s (AIT) workshop, Jobs in SEZs: Promoting Gender-Sensitive Policies in the Mekong Region, representatives of governments, special economic zone (SEZ) management bodies, and civil society from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Thailand, committed to promoting decent work ...

Border towns are often labelled as remote villages without modern infrastructure or amenities. However, recent economic policies such as the development of special economic zones and foreign investment have led to the urbanisation of these rural areas. A clear example of this can be seen in Mae ...

The high-speed train project to link up three major airports is still mired in land expropriation and eviction problems concerning 20% of the land required for construction despite it being expected to begin operation in five years. If the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) fails to ...

Rayong residents have raised concerns about pollution and the empty promises that the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project might bring. Their concerns, they said yesterday, were based on the lesson they learned from the Eastern Seaboard Development programme more than 30 years ago.  “When the Eastern Seaboard ...

Resource-rich Ramree Island, on the coast of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, has remained on the sidelines of recent violence as fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) continues to intensify. But the Myanmar government’s relations with the AA are now increasingly shaped by pressure from ...

Communities in Dawei are turning to tourism as a new source of income and as an alternative to negative impacts from the industrial development that has already displaced many families and now threatens the pristine environment. Set amid fruit orchards and betel-nut plantations, the village of Kalonehtar ...

At least 140 families from eight villages in the Khong district of southwestern Laos’ Champasak province are refusing to sell their land or relocate to make way for a special economic zone planned for their area. Despite this, developers have begun the hasty construction of an ...

Golden Myanmar Investment Consortium, which was formed by investors from China, Hong Kong and Myanmar to develop industrial zones, is planning to set up a new zone in Htantabin township, Yangon, the Yangon Region government and Yangon Region Investment Committee have announced. The creation of the ...

Than Ei lived in the Thilawa area near Yangon for years, growing vegetables in her backyard and sending her two children to school with money from her husband’s construction job. Then came the government order to move. Than Ei’s family was among 68 households relocated in ...