Local people will meet with government ministers, lawyers and representatives from CITIC and the SEZ’s Bid Evaluation and Awarding Committee (BEAC), according to U Tun Kyi, secretary of Kyaukphyu Regional Development Association, a local NGO.
The government announced late last year that the committee had awarded the tender to a CITI-led consortium, consisting of six Chinese firms and one Thai company. The announcement came less than a week after more than 107 Rakhine State civil society groups met at a three-day forum, and demanded that the project be suspended. That forum objected to a lack of transparency in the tender selection process, demanded more consideration for the welfare of local people and asked that the project be suspended until the National League for Democracy takes power.
The selection of a consortium led by a Chinese firm has done nothing to soothe local concerns. Some Rakhine locals have pointed to CITIC’s nationality as yet another concern. Several Chinese firms or projects involving Chinese companies have under fire from local protestors. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
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