Sagaing Region will soon receive Myanmar’s first textile-based industrial zone. Myanmar’s Eastern Development International and Chinese partner Dongzhan Textile Group will lead the USD 371 million project. It will include manufacturing facilities for every stage of the garment-making process as well as a massive new textile market and wholesale center.

The planned industrial zone shows that Myanmar and international partners — or at least, China — have full faith in a sector battered by COVID-19. Garments are Myanmar’s chief manufactured good and the industry had enjoyed steady growth before the pandemic. However factory closures within the country and reduced demand from abroad have caused garment exports to plummet. According to the Ministry of Commerce, garment exports for the first quarter of the fiscal year fell 25% compared to FY 2019-2020.

The industrial zone will also be another foothold for China in garment manufacturing, which has a stronger presence in Yangon and southern Myanmar than in the north.