“Yangon City Development Committee is leasing out public parks and playgrounds for construction projects. The city needs parks and playgrounds as well as new buildings for its development. We object to this decision,” U Aye Min, a member of Lawyers’ Network who is leading the objection, told The Myanmar Times on December 19.
A civil society group called Democratic Force that is associated with the objection joined Lawyers’ Network in a protest walk from Mingalar Taung Nyunt township to City Hall on December 9.
“Officials took no notice,” he said.
Asia Myanmar Consortium Development (AMCD), a consortium of five property developers, was awarded the right to develop the Theinbyu compound – previously a driving school – in 2012. The details of the deal have never been officially disclosed to the public and in August of this year the local Pyithu Hluttaw representative, Daw Phyu Phyu Thin from the National League for Democracy, asked if YCDC intended to restore the park to public use. Yangon Mayor U Hla Myint responded that there were no such plans, according to U Aye Min.
“We will raise the question of YCDC’s use of public space in the next session of Yangon Region Hluttaw,” said U Aye Min, adding that the group is cooperating with region hluttaw MPs.
He said Lawyers’ Network is aware of five public parks and playgrounds, including Theinbyu and Yar Pyae in Tarmwe, that have been awarded to developers.
“Theinbyu is included in a green zone according to the government’s environmental plan, and it is close to Kandawgyi Park. It is also on Kan Yeik Thar Road, which YCDC says is also in the environmental zone and should not contain high-rise buildings. It looks like YCDC is breaking its own rules,” said U Aye Min.
“If regional governments want to allow construction in public spaces, they must report it to the hluttaw,” he added.
A representative from AMCD, which plans to build a hotel and residences at the Theinbyu site, initially agreed to an interview last week but then backtracked and said the company would make a public announcement in the coming days.
“This compound was rented to a driving school last year, and has not been used for public access since. Using it for construction won’t make a big difference in my opinion,” said an AMCD official, who asked not to be named.
YCDC officials did not respond to requests for comment.
According to media reports, the consortium plans to invest K125 billion (US$127.5 million) in the project, with profits to be split equally between the companies and YCDC. The consortium, which was established in 2011, previously developed Ice Wonder Land in Kandawgyi Park with Jian Xi Long Dai Culture Limited from China. The exhibition, which featured ice sculptures inside a giant freezer, aimed to bring “the amazing and pleasure to the Myanmar people of the tropical land as they get to the North Pole like Eskimo”, according to the consortium. It opened in February 2012 but closed about a year later.
source: The Myanmar Times
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