Minister’s brother granted gravel mining rights in Kyaukphyu

By Admin 06 Aug 2026

DMG Newsroom

6 August 2026, Kyaukphyu

The brother of U Kyaw Swe Lwin, the Arakan State government’s Minister of Electricity, Energy, Industry and Transportation, has been granted rights to operate a gravel extraction site in Kyaukphyu Township by the local government.

U Kyaw Swe Lwin is a native of Kyaukphyu Township, while his elder brother, U Kyaw Swa, lives in Alel Pine Ward in Kyaukphyu Town.

The initial permit allows the extraction of more than 4,000 tons of gravel from the site.

According to local sources, the extracted gravel will be used for road repairs in junta-controlled Kyaukphyu and Sittwe. The permit was granted during a recent visit to Kyaukphyu by junta-appointed Arakan State Chief Minister U Naing Oo.

"U Naing Oo personally inspected the gravel extraction site and directly granted the operating rights to U Kyaw Swe Lwin’s elder brother, who is the brother of the Minister of Electricity, Energy, Industry and Transportation," said a Kyaukphyu resident familiar with U Kyaw Swa’s family.

In Kyaukphyu Town, the market price of one unit (100 cubic feet) of gravel can reach up to K500,000. The designated extraction site is located along a riverbank near Gonechwein Village.

Local business owners have criticised the direct awarding of the rights, saying that government procurement, development projects, and natural resource extraction contracts are normally required to go through a public tender process before being awarded.

"Granting operating rights directly to relatives and close associates without a tender process bypasses standard procedures and amounts to an abuse of power for personal benefit. I would describe this as corruption," said a Kyaukphyu business owner.

Local residents have also criticised the regime, saying that since urban battles began in Arakan State, authorities have abused their power in regional projects by granting exclusive rights to cronies and relatives of military officials and their associates.

Residents have further expressed concerns that the gravel extraction site, located along a riverbank near farmland and agricultural plantations, could cause environmental damage, including excavator waste disposal, riverbank erosion, and landslides.

Although gravel can be extracted from coastal areas, rivers, and creeks across Arakan State, residents said the regime, which now controls only three remaining towns in the state, has arranged to source gravel for construction projects mainly from Kyaukphyu.