Villagers claim Dawei deep seaport project making life hell

Villagers living in the area of the Dawei deep-sea port, part of a mega development project worth USD$60 billion that is planned for southern Burma, claim it is making it hard for them to now make a living.

Villagers in the Nabule area of Yebyu Township claim that they have lost farming lands and are now unable to grow seasonal crops because of the deep-sea port project.

Ma Lwin Lwin, from the Tavoyan Women’s Union, a group that says it is monitoring the deep-sea port project closely, spoke to Karen News. Ma Lwin Lwin said that people in the Mudu and Ma Yin Gyi villages in the Nabule area were told by officials from the project to shift their ‘seasonal crops’ elsewhere.

“This year, they [villagers] will have to move out. Some of the lands were already sold. Some of the land owners are still uncertain, but they don’t want to risk investing in growing seasonal crops such as watermelon and other vegetables – they have no income and are facing a hard time now.”

Villagers in the Nabule area earn their living from growing watermelon in season and having other long-term crops such as betel nut, cashews and jackfruit plantations. According to local sources, the average annual income of each family in the Nabule area is estimated to be about 3 million kyat (about $3,000 USD).

Most of villagers in the Nabule area earn their living by growing watermelon in the land near the coast and send it to the market in Dawei Town. This year many of the villagers have not grown watermelon and other vegetable as they worry their farming land will be taken by the Dawei deep seaport project.

U Aung Myint, a villager from Mudu village, was reported in the Tavoyan Voice website said.

“We are working quietly on our own and earn enough living for our family. Only since this deep sea-port project came in to our area have local villagers been facing economic hardship.”

The Tavoyan Voice reported that the deep seaport project would only benefit major businesspeople and government officials while local villagers would bear the negative impacts daily.

In September this year, villagers experienced transportation problems. Roads in Yebyu Township were destroyed by heavy trucks used by the Italian-Thai Development Company to move construction materials to and from the project. In July this year, Ka Loat Hta villagers who were relocated from their original village said they were not happy with the relocation process.

The Italian-Thai Development Company is a Thai owned company that is developing the $60 billion mega Tavoy/Dawei Development Project in Dawei, in Southern Burma. The project includes a deep seaport, a 250 square-kilometer light and heavy industrial zone, a 4,000-megawatt coal-fired power plant, and highways and railways link to the Thai border.