Russia Joins Myanmar's Dawei SEZ Revival Bid — SkimNews
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- Myanmar's military-backed administration is reviving the Dawei SEZ, launched in 2008 with initial estimates exceeding $50 billion and restructured in 2015-16 after financial and development problems derailed it.
- Russian state-owned firm Inter RAO signed an agreement in June 2026 with Myanmar's Launglon Economic Development Company for a 660-megawatt coal-fired power plant, with Russia seeking majority stakes during the payback period to meet its banks' lending conditions.
- Myanmar terminated all nine initial-phase contracts with Italian-Thai Development in December 2020 after repeated delays and unmet financial obligations, weeks before the February 2021 coup.
- Recorded FDI into Myanmar fell from more than $28.7 billion in 2016-2020 to $7.4 billion in 2021-2025, reflecting armed conflict, policy uncertainty, sanctions, and major corporate exits.
- The Htee Khee border trade area has been controlled by the Karen National Union and allied resistance forces since May 2025, while fighting between military forces and local resistance groups has reportedly intensified around the project area.
- Thailand held bilateral talks on the Htee Khee-Dawei corridor in August under a policy of 'calibrated re-engagement,' and coup leader-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing promoted Dawei to Vietnamese investors at a September business forum in Hanoi.
- A 2014 survey of more than 1,500 households documented concerns about land loss, limited consultation, and incomplete compensation — concerns now compounded by questions about ownership, transparency, and environmental safeguards.
Why it matters: Russia's entry into Dawei gives Moscow a foothold on Myanmar's Andaman coast near the Strait of Malacca, while junta-linked entities gain a development lifeline as FDI collapsed roughly 74% from $28.7 billion to $7.4 billion between 2016-2025. The KNU's May 2025 capture of the Htee Khee border crossing — the project's overland route to Thailand — puts the entire cross-border model in question.
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