The Yangon regional government will unbundle an infrastructure deal for New Yangon City, a 20,000-acre Chinese-backed project planned for the western edge of the city. This means, bidders will have a better outlook of participating in parts of the project as opposed to one contractor winning the entire project.

In 2018, the Yangon Regional Government signed a USD 1.5 billion framework with the Chinese state-owned China Communications Construction Company, Ltd. (CCCC) to develop infrastructure for the new city project. However, the Irrawaddy reported that the project has shifted to a “Swiss Challenge” model in which third party firms may submit their own bids against CCCC and would have to reimburse CCCC for its planning and design costs in case they win the bid. The infrastructure in question will cost roughly USD 800 million and includes an industrial zone, a bridge spanning the Yangon River, and commercial and residential buildings, among other installations.

The shift to the Swiss challenge system could be an effort to add transparency to the somewhat controversial project. The regional government initially signed with CCCC without calling for competing bids. Furthermore, CCCC itself has faced allegations of fraud, corruption, and disregard for local communities and environments. For example, in 2009 CCCC was accused of fraudulent practices while developing a World Bank-funded roadway project in the Philippines, and the company was barred from all World Bank affiliated road and bridge projects for eight years.

However, an unnamed senior government official told the Irrawaddy that the unbundling was not due to controversy surrounding CCCC or a need for more transparency. Rather, it was because of the “sheer scale of the mega-investment required, making it possible for other companies to join the Swiss Challenge,” wrote the Irrawaddy. The official continued that so far three companies have responded to the call for bids.