Japanese company to upgrade Myanmar's Mandalay int'l airport

A Japanese company will upgrade Myanmar's Mandalay International Airport in the north into a logistic hub airport, according to the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) Monday.

The concession agreement on the upgradation tasks was signed between the MC Jalux Airport Services Co Ltd and the DCA.

For the upgrading tasks of the airport, proposals were invited from local and foreign companies in March 2013, of which the eligible one was to be assigned.

The runway of the airport is the longest facility in South-East Asian region and it can handle about three million passengers on departure and arrival yearly.

Mandalay International Airport at which Boeing planes can land and take off was opened in September 2000.

The airport to be upgraded at a cost of 100 million USD is aimed at creating direct transportation of goods to other countries in Asia and Europe, said the DCA.

As Mandalay is situated on ASEAN-China and ASEAN-India routes, goods from China and India can be shipped to other Asian countries and European countries via Mandalay International Airport within a short period of time.

Besides the three existing international airports which also include Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw, there are also 30 regional airports in Myanmar totaling 32.

Meanwhile, Myanmar recently awarded the Singapore-listed Yongnam Holdings consortium a 1.5 billion U.S. dollars' contract to build the new Hanthawaddy International Airport in central Bago region, which is set to replace the Yangon International Airport in the future. The project is targeted to complete within three to four years and be operational by 2019 to handle 12 million passengers per year, according to the DCA.