A major Malaysian developer has announced plans to build a roughly USD 750 million mixed-use project in Yangon. Malaysian conglomerate Berjaya Land Berhad, or BLand, operating in Myanmar as BDS Smart City Co. Ltd, signed a lease for 74 hectares in Dagon Seikkan Township, worth USD 746 million. The site will eventually host affordable and high-end housing and commercial space, as well as schools, hospitals and other community services, the company said. Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein told state media that the endeavor will be the first affordable housing project backed by foreign investment. He said the government would own 240,000 square meters on the compound, which will be completed in three phases over nine years.

The complex is the second major, foreign-backed development in Yangon announced this month. Recently, Thai developer Amata Corp announced plans for a USD 1 billion commercial site. The “Yangon Amata Smart and Eco City” will be located on the outskirts of Yangon and include manufacturing facilities, housing and a 600 megawatt power plant.

U Phyo Min Thein said the company won the rights to the site from a pool of three competitors. The complex will be merely the latest in a series of new, international-standard mixed-use developments in Yangon. Indeed, some analysts have suggested Yangon may be in a development bubble. While BLand is one of Malaysia’s premiere developers, smaller prospectors have been known to break ground on a project without sufficient funding, hoping to sell units to fill the funding gaps. Thus, Yangon is rapidly becoming riddled with new or half-finished mixed-use towers. Whether or not the market can support these developments remains to be seen.