Myanmar plans privatization of all domestic airport businesses

Myanmar is planning to privatize all domestic airport management businesses soon as part of its privatization program to promote the civil aviation industry.

There are 69 airports in the country. Of them, 32 are available for aircraft landing, of which only eight can accommodate such larger aircraft as Boeing 747-400.

At present, the Pioneer Company under the giant Asia World Company has secured the grant for running of the management business of the Yangon International Airport.

A new measure of collection of aviation tax for foreign airlines is to be done by private companies under the privatization scheme.

The new measure sets that the monthly tax will be charged in U. S. dollar for more than 400 aircrafts flying across Myanmar's air space annually.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has introduced since July 1 a new uniform airport tax rate for domestic passengers traveling abroad in line with the international standard.

The airport tax rate was raised to be paid in foreign exchange instead of Myanmar Kyat from 3,000 Kyats (3.75 U.S. dollars) per head previously to 10 dollars as applied to foreign visitors.

The new airport tax charge is included in the air ticket without need to be paid at the airport when leaving the country.

Yangon International Airport saw 510,000 travelers from international airlines and 360,000 local travelers from domestic airlines in the first quarter of this year, a 21.65-percent and 23. 47-percent increase respectively compared with the same period of last year.

To meet a capacity of handling 3.8 million passengers a year and giving full service, Myanmar is implementing a plan to extend and upgrade Yangon International Airport to an international level one.

The plan is partly aimed at promoting international relations and economic sector in accordance with features of a new country

"Yangon International Airport can handle 2.7 million passengers a year, now its passenger arrival is reckoned at over 2 million a year and it will reach its highest capacity before long, " officials said.

Myanmar's domestic air transport capacity has risen 40 times, having been able to transport an average of 800,000 passengers by local flights yearly, an increase from over 20,000 in the past.

Meanwhile, the number of passengers of overseas flights has now reached 700,000 a year from 50,000 in the past.

There are six domestic airlines in Myanmar including one state- owned, which is the Myanmar Airways, and five private-run -- Air Mandalay, Yangon Airways, Air Bagan, Asian Wings and Kanbawza.

There is also another Myanmar international airline, the Myanmar Airways International (MAI), flying solely some foreign destinations.

13 other foreign airlines flying Yangon comprise Air China, China Southern Airline, Thai Airways International, Indian Airlines, Qatar Airways, Silk Air, Malaysian Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Mandarin, Jetstar Asia, Phuket Airline, Thai Air Asia and Vietnam Airlines.

Moreover, an international level new airport project -- Nay Pyi Taw has also been underway in Myanmar's new capital and the construction work is being expedited to ensure the completion by 2012.

Lying 16 kilometers south of Nay Pyi Taw, the airport project, which covers an area of 2,255 hectares and has a runway of 3,600 meters long and 60 meters wide, will be able to cope with 10 aircrafts simultaneously and handle 9,000 passengers a day or 3.5 million a year.

The project, which costs some 370 million U.S. dollars, is aimed at ensuring a sharp increase in tourist arrivals due to ASEAN and other international conferences, SEA Games and ASEAN Summit to be held in the near future.

Begun in April 2009, the project stands the third after Yangon and Mandalay international airports.

Myanmar became a member of the international Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 1948.