Myanmar Times
Kayah residents protest planned Pwunchaung dam
About 500 residents of Bawlakhe township, Kayah State, on October 11 protested plans to build a dam on Pwunchaung Stream, as water and soil examination continues. Transparency and environmental impact are the major concerns for the protestors, who already sent letters to the president and state ...
US officially terminates sanctions order
After imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar for nearly two decades, the US formally abolished the blacklist on October 7. US President Barack Obama signed an executive order terminating the sanctions, following his pledge to do so made when State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi visited ...
Industrial sector says policy details are needed to ensure economic zones grow
Poor infrastructure, low-quality or unreliable electricity supply, water shortages, inadequate transportation links, and ongoing disagreements with local residents affected by zone development are among the most serious problems developing the country’s industrial sector, experts say. But perhaps the biggest problem, they say, is the lack ...
US gems association eyes trade ties as sanctions end
The American Gem Trade Association arrived in Myanmar for the first time this week to assess the gems sector and build trade relationships ahead of an anticipated end to the US sanctions regime, which would allow the legal import of Myanmar rubies and jade. The association’s ...
Low production and quality to blame for rubber sector’s export woes
Low productivity, high labour costs and sub-par quality are holding Myanmar back from becoming a serious rubber producer, experts say. The nation’s rubber plantations produce at less than half the international production rate, and a rise in volume must be matched by improvements in product ...
Protesters told not to behave ‘lawlessly’
Villagers have been reprimanded over an unsanctioned protest staged outside the Mandalay Region government’s office last week. The Thabeikkyin township residents were seeking a meeting with the chief minister over gold mines they allege have encroached on village territory over the last few years with ...
Lack of budget hampering MCDC: mayor
Mandalay City’s municipal authority is staring at a long development to-do list, and a lack of funds to do it with, the mayor told regional lawmakers last week. Improving Myanmar’s second-biggest city will depend on finances, U Ye Lwin, mayor and head of Mandalay City Development ...
Documentary raises alarm over Shan region threatened by Salween dam
Activists on September 28 released a 30-minute documentary as part of a campaign against a mega-dam in central Shan State. The documentary, called Drowning a Thousand Islands, includes local people from the remote Kunhing area voicing their concerns that the proposed Mong Ton hydropower project will irrevocably ...
Parents to be surveyed on education system
In the hopes of boosting parental involvement in their child’s education, teachers are conducting a survey. Parents will be asked to participate in the paper-based questionnaire, with teachers aiming to gain a better understanding of the issues faced by Myanmar’s education system as it readies itself ...
MGMA backs garment industry to boom when US sanctions are lifted
Myanmar’s leading garment industry body has been buoyed by the lifting of sanctions it hopes will see a return to the glory days for the sector, when in the early 2000s a majority of country’s garments were shipped to the US. Speaking at a manufacturing trade ...
