Friday 15 May 2015

Myanmar adds airports to meet tourism demand

Departure Lounge
Departure lounge at  Myanmar's Yangon International Airport
creativecommons image by mikecogh on flicrk
Look at any list of the world's hot travel destinations, and Myanmar will probably be on the list. The former nation of Burma, emerging after decades of being closed to tourists, is busy making plans to handle all those new visitors.

Myanmar currently has 3 international airports (along with about 30 domestic airports):
The on-again, off-again, plans to build a 4th is back on again with the recent announcement of new investors for the Hanthawaddy International Airport project [more]. Located in the central Bago region, just 80 kilometres from Yangon, the new greenfield Hanthawaddy International Airport will be capable of handling 18 million passengers, and is expected to open in 2018.

Construction on a 5th is already underway. Expansion of the renamed former domestic Tavoy Airport to international standards has commenced, with runway and other facilities to follow. Dawei International Airport (TVY) is being developed in conjunction with the Dawei Deep Seaport project, and will be fully operational by 2017.

Related resources

Singapore-Japan consortium wins deal to build new airport
Myanmar reboots new airport tender
Myanmar to add two new int'l airports to meet future development
Myanmar Coming to a Crossroads - Travel Pulse
Myanmar airport transportation guides