A dry port is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail.

Freight trains will run from Ywar Thargyi to a second dry port in Myit Nge, Mandalay, which KM will also own and operate. The company said it invested over US$50 million (K78 billion) in both ports.

KM is joint venture company that is 70 percent owned by Kerry Logistic and 30pc owned by Mother Logistics, its local partner.

Meanwhile, Myanmar-owned RG has invested US$40 million in a similar project under which freight trains will run from its Ywar Thar Gyi dry port in Yangon to its Myit Nge dry port in Mandalay, according to RG.

The two projects are expected to help improve Myanmar’s logistics network. “Because our logistics system is not good, costs are high across the transport value chain. As such, Myanmar needs logistics hubs like these dry ports to help upgrade the system,” U Thant Sin Maung, Union Minster of Transport and Communication, said at the opening ceremony of KM’s dry port.

The Yangon dry ports will handle cargo directly transferred from the Yangon river ports and Thilawa ports and help to alleviate traffic congestion on the roads. It will also speed up the flow of cargo between vessels and major land transportation networks, which adds value for consignees and exporters.

In addition, the Ywar Thar Gyi dry port in Yangon and Myit Nge dry port in Mandalay are strategically located in the centre of Myanmar, which will support trade between lower and upper Myanmar.

“Our Yangon dry port will now be linked by road and railway to our Mandalay Myit Nge dry port, which started operations since May,” said U Nyi Htut, general manager of KM.

U Myint Maw, managing director of RG, said the ports will help to streamline trade flows and decrease logistics costs.

Last year, Myanma Railways, which is under the remit of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, signed agreements with KM and RG to construct the dry ports under a build, operate and transfer system.

Myanmar ranks 137 out of 160 countries on the World Bank’s logistics performance index 2018.

Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanmars-first-dry-port-opens-business.html