Junta claims it has big spending plans for ‘beautifying’ Arakan State capital Sittwe

By Admin 28 Oct 2023

DMG Newsroom
28 October 2023, Sittwe
 
The state-level version of Myanmar’s military regime is touting a plan to spend K3.5 billion (US$1.67 million) on beautifying Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State.
 
U Hla Thein, spokesperson for the Araka State military council, told DMG that the upgrade plans will draw from the state military council’s fund and include improvement works for the Mayu Road and Shu Khin Thar Road, as well as water drainage and sanitation systems.
 
“We are spending K3.5 billion on beautifying Sittwe city. Sittwe will be upgraded using our budgets to match the status of the capital of Arakan State. In fact, if we are going to upgrade Sittwe city, we have to spend about K300 billion,” U Hla Thein said.
 
He added that in upgrading the road, for example, from the Lawka Nandar traffic light to the front of the Arakan State government office, concrete blocks would be placed on the road’s median, as is the case in other Myanmar cities.
 
“We have begun a 90-day project for upgrading Sittwe city following Cyclone Mocha. First, we will dig the drainage channels for proper flow of water in Sittwe. Secondly, we will upgrade roads in Sittwe. We will create median strips and plant trees for beautifying Sittwe city,” he said.
 
Under Sittwe city’s 90-day upgrade project, the existing pedestrian platform will be expanded to 10 feet wide from View Point Beach to the east of Sittwe Hotel, which was damaged by Cyclone Mocha in mid-May.
 
“As the environment in Sittwe has been severely damaged by Cyclone Mocha, the military council needs to repair it,” said U Khin Maung Tun, secretary of the Tharki Mandaing Arakan Association. 

“When it rains a little, the streets in Sittwe are filled with water, so it is necessary to properly dig the drainage channels,” he added. “There is the Myo Lae Creek in Sittwe, but when it rains, the water does not flow from the creek to the river, so the city is flooded in places that shouldn’t be. These also need to be prioritised.”