Development must happen with careful consideration of environmental aspects, cautioned environmental groups, when Myanmar announced it will give the go-ahead for new hotels to be developed in Mergui, the southernmost archipelago, by year-end.
Development must happen with careful consideration of
environmental aspects, cautioned environmental groups, when Myanmar announced
it will give the go-ahead for new hotels to be developed in Mergui, the southernmost
archipelago, by year-end.
While acknowledging the benefits of such development plans,
environmentalists have urged the government to establish environmental
guidelines for the developers.
Mergui Archipelago, located in southernmost part of Myanmar,
comprises over 800 islands. Due to its virtual isolation, the islands and
surrounding seas have an unspoilt diversity of flora, fauna and marine life. It
is now populated with about 2,000 sea gypsies known as Moken or Salone in Myanmar. They are an Austronesian
ethnic group, with its own language, and who maintain a nomadic, sea-based
culture.
According to Bangkok
Post reports, some 27 local companies and joint ventures are awaiting
approval from the Myanmar Investment Commission for new hotel and resort
projects on the islands.
Earlier local reports claimed Singapore firm Zochwell Group
Pte Ltd was close to signing a contract to develop a US$1.2-billion project,
including a casino in Mergui Archipelago, but local officials quoted by the
same media outlet claimed to have no knowledge of the project.
Zochwell’s chief commercial officer Gareth Chin told the
Myanmar Times the firm would have a 50-year lease over the land, with an option
to extend the contract twice – each time for a period of 10 years.
But the assistant director of Myanmar’s Ministry of Hotels
and Tourism, told the media outlet he was not aware of the project. “We oversee
all of the islands in the Mergui Archipelago. They need to get approval from
our department, but we haven’t had any information yet,” he reportedly said.
Mergui’s collection of islands, almost untouched by tourism,
had five hotels and motels with a total of 196 rooms by the end of 2014,
according to data from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.
Source: GGR Asia, Bangkok Post