“We have not decided on it and there have been no detailed discussions other than the presentation of the proposal. The company needs to submit details to the Myanmar Investment Commission as this is a large project,” U Kyaw Aye Thein, the state government’s Minister of Finance, Revenue, Planning and Economy, said.

Gold Coast KTMG representatives met with Rakhine State government officials in June to present the proposal on the so-called “Sittwe New City” project, to be developed on 7,000 acres of land with an estimated cost of US$38 billion.

Gold Coast KTMG registered as a company in the country this past February but has no known track record, in Malaysia or Myanmar, for multibillion-dollar development projects.

U Kyaw Aye Thein said the “Sittwe New City” project as shared by the Gold Coast KTMG representatives involves building residential and industrial zones with a port on farmland not owned by the state government.

The state government has been trying to woo investors, holding an investment forum in February attended by State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The only foreign investment in real estate so far has been from South Korea’s BXT International, in a joint venture with the state government to develop the Sittwe waterfront project on 90 acres of reclaimed land.

According to state government data, foreigners have invested US$9 billion in the state, mostly in the oil and gas industry. The state government has invited foreign investors to participate in projects such as the Ponnagyum Industrial Zone, Ka Nyin Chaung Trading Zone, Kyaetaw-Mingan Development in Sittwe, Mrauk-U New City and Airport, the upgrading of Ngapali Airport and development of Man Aung Island- Eco Tourism Development Project. 

Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/no-decision-made-malaysian-proposal-sittwe-new-city-project.html