The booming real estate sector in Myanmar is now moving toward the high-end and luxury as local firms plan to build the country's tallest building in the former capital and an existing tower will be upgraded to a five star-hotel for an international chain.

 

A proposal to build the country's tallest building in downtown Yangon has been submitted to the government by a local company, according to a government announcement.

 

December Construction Company plans to put up a 44-storey tower, with the name 'Shwe Gone Office and Apartment Tower', beside the Sakura Tower and Traders Hotels, two well-known high buildings in downtown.

 

It will be located at the site of two famous movie houses - the Myoma Cinema and Shwe Gone Cinema on Bogyoke Aung San Road.

 

December Company not only works on construction projects but operates the Hotel Shwe Gon Daing and is involved in housing projects.

 

Meanwhile, Shwe Taung Company is planning to construct a 34-storey building in Bogyoke open-air market in downtown. It plans to sign a land lease contract with Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). 

 

However, people have expressed concerns that it may cast a shadow over the Shwedagon Pagoda, the most sacred site for Buddhists in the country. The open-air market belongs to the YCDC and an open space with no building currently. The YCDC earlier said it would not disclose how much it would charge for a land lease or for how long until a contract had been signed.

 

Meanwhile, Max Myanmar Group of Companies will transform Pyay Tower in Yangon into a five-star hotel for an international chain and open it at the end of this year, the group has announced.

 

The tower is located near Myanmar Radio and Television 4 (MRTV-4) compound. IIDA International Design Pte Ltd from Singapore will be responsible for the design of the hotel. Engineers from Max Myanmar are now starting construction.

 

The hotel will be named Novotel Hotel Yangon. It will have two towers and 366 rooms and contain presidential suites, penthouses, ballrooms, meeting rooms, conference rooms, a coffee bar, cocktail bar, French-style restaurant, swimming pool, fitness and spa facilities, plus a tennis court.

 

Accor Hospitality from France will manage the hotel. Over 600 job opportunities will be created after the hotel is finished.

 

Myanmar has 30 foreign-owned hotels currently and over 5,000 rooms. Another five foreign hotels are under construction and 1,145 more rooms will be available once these are done. 

 

This year, some 414 hotel rooms will be constructed. After the projects are finished, Myanmar will have over 6,700 hotel rooms with foreign investment. Funding for the projects comes from Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the UK and Vietnam. Most tourists have bee coming from China, Japan, Malaysia, Korea and Thailand, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.

 

(Source: The Nation)