Kyaukphyu Airport to get major upgrade

By DMG 13 Jun 2022

DMG Newsroom
13 June 2022, Kyaukphyu 

Kyaukphyu Airport in Arakan State is set to undergo renovations during the current fiscal year, with runway and parking lot upgrades expected. 

A tender has been invited for the project, Kyaukphyu Airport in-charge U Nyi Nyi Aung told DMG. 

“Kyaukphyu Airport will reportedly be renovated in the financial year 2022-2023. The airport’s runways and parking lot will be upgraded. It is unknown at this time what month the project will begin. We will begin implementing the project after we consult with the tender-winning company,” he added. 

The upgrade of Kyaukphyu Airport comes amid implementation of the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ), a major China-backed economic development project that has been years in the works. 

U Phoe San, a former MP for Kyaukphyu Township, told DMG that he would like to see systematic upgrades to the airport’s main passenger lounge and restrooms. 

“With the SEZ in the near future, housing projects and new cities will emerge, so I think the renovation of the airport as a tourism service will be relevant. This airport has been in need of repair for a long time. The passenger lounge is cramped and inconvenient. I want the toilets to be repaired properly,” the ex-lawmaker said. 

Former Upper House lawmaker Daw Htoot May put forward a proposal to upgrade Kyaukphyu Airport during a regular session of the upper chamber on July 28, 2020. 

The airport in Kyaukphyu was built during World War II, originally with a 2,500-foot-long runway made of steel sheets popularly known as Marston matting. It was upgraded in 1955 to a tarred runway 4,620 feet in length and 100 feet wide. The existing runway was extended to 7,500 feet long in the fiscal year 2013-14. 

Air KBZ operates regular flights to Kyaukphyu Airport five days a week, while the national flag carrier Myanmar National Airlines operates regular flights three days a week. 

Though passenger volume remains light at the airport, ongoing construction of the SEZ and an accompanying deep-sea port at Kyaukphyu is likely to increase demand for flights in the years to come.