Union Minister for Construction (MoC) U Han Zaw presided over the 4th meeting of the “leading committee on construction of elevated expressways and outer ring road in Yangon” on November 18th.

A top government priority, with the International Finance Corporation (IFC, member of the World Bank Group) supporting as “lead transaction advisor”, the planned four-lane ring road will connect downtown Yangon, Yangon Port, Yangon International Airport, Mingalardon Industrial Zone and the Yangon-Mandalay Highway.

Phase 1 of the elevated expressway project, of a total length of 27.5 kilometers, includes a 19 km long four-lane way in the eastern part of the city; a 6 km long four-lane way from east to west; and a 2.5 km long two-lane way connecting to Yangon International Airport at an estimated cost of USD 800 million.

Operated under a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme, the project is said to be toll-funded and was to be completed in 2024. But the timeline has been extended and is now uncertain partly due to the pandemic. The recent repetition of meetings tend to show that the government wants to move forward with the project.

In December 2018, the government had shortlisted 10 bidding companies out of 53 submissions, interested in building the expressway and the winner should have been announced since April and construction started by July this year.