Can Myanmar’s New Government Revive the Stalled Dawei SEZ Project? — SkimNews
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- Myanmar's military-backed administration launched a revival push for the stalled Dawei SEZ last year, with closer post-coup ties bringing Russia back into active investment talks on power plants, oil refineries, and seaports
- Russian state-owned Inter RAO signed a June 2026 agreement with the military-controlled Launglon Economic Development Company for a 660-megawatt coal-fired power plant, with Russia seeking majority stakes during the payback period to meet bank lending conditions
- Italian-Thai Development had all nine initial-phase Dawei contracts terminated in December 2020 for repeated delays and unmet financial obligations, weeks before the February 2021 coup
- Recorded FDI in Myanmar fell from over $28.7 billion in 2016-2020 to $7.4 billion in 2021-2025, per an ISP-Myanmar report analyzing official investment data
- The Htee Khee border trade area has been controlled by the Karen National Union and its allied resistance forces since May 2025, while fighting between military and resistance forces has reportedly intensified around the project area
- Thailand held bilateral talks in August on the Htee Khee-Dawei corridor under its "calibrated re-engagement" policy, and Min Aung Hlaing promoted the project to Vietnamese investors at a Hanoi business forum the following month
Why it matters: The revival rests on cross-border logistics that the Myanmar military may not control: the Htee Khee border trade area has been under Karen National Union and allied resistance forces since May 2025, and the Dawei-Htee Khee road crosses conflict-affected Tanintharyi Region, making reliable Thai access a hard precondition while FDI has collapsed from $28.7B to $7.4B.
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