This week the Myanmar Times reported that the Myanmar Project Bank, a new collection of ongoing projects under the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan (MSDP), has added a total of USD 7.9 billion worth of projects in 2020. Railway infrastructure accounts for USD 5.8 billion, with two of the Bank’s most expensive project (Yangon-Mandalay Railway and Yangon Central Station) accounting for USD 4.8 billion alone.

Launched last year with help from German development organization GIZ, the Project Bank “is an open, interactive, web-based platform designed to highlight investment projects” under the MSDP, according to its website. The listed projects include a variety of ongoing developments, including new roads, railways, factories and power plants. Some of the higher-value items include a USD 660 million textile production facility in Sagaing Region and a USD 960 million Yangon-Mandalay expressway renovation. Yet Myanma Railways is the Project Bank’s biggest patron, with seven in-development projects. Other than the Yangon-Mandalay Railway and Yangon Central Station, its listed endeavors include the Yangon-Pyay Railway Modernization Project, which will cost USD 255 million, and the Yangon Circular Railway Upgrading Project, which will cost USD 245 million.

Japan is the largest backer of these projects, with the Japan International Cooperation Agency funding the Yangon Central Station and the improvements to the Circular Railway. However, Japan is not the only investor in Myanmar’s railway future: China is currently developing a new high-speed railway between Mandalay and Muse as part of the broader China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.