November 11, 2018
Work Starts on Upgrading of Vital Myanmar Rail Route
Nyaunglebin Township, Myanmar, 11 November 2018. Construction work for OC Global’s Yangon-Mandalay Railway Improvement project officially commenced today with a groundbreaking ceremony in Nyaunglebin Township, Bago District. Dignitaries attending the ceremony were U Thant Zin Maung, Minister of Transport and Communications, and Mr. Ichiro Maruyama, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
The project is funded by Japanese Official Development Assistance Loans administered by JICA, and OC Global has been leading the consulting team undertaking the feasibility studies, the basic and detailed design and assisting Myanma Railways (MR) with the tendering process to engage construction companies for Phase 1 of the project. The OC Global-led consortium will continue to serve as MR’s consultant for supervising the construction.
The purpose of the project is to improve bridges, trackworks, and signalling of the railway line and introduce new rolling stock to drastically cut the journey time and increase passenger comfort for the rail services between Yangon and Mandalay. This Phase 1 project targets the section of the route between Yangon and Taungoo.
OC Global’s president, Mr Eiji Yonezawa, representing the company at the ceremony said, “OC Global is proud to be supporting Myanma Railways and the people of Myanmar with the long-overdue improvement of this vital transport link between the two biggest cities of the country.”
Guests at the groundbreaking ceremony for Phase 1 of the Yangon-Mandalay Railway Improvement Project, from left to right: Mr. Yasushi Nakagawa, Managing Officer of Tekken Corporation; Eiji Yonezawa, President of OC Global; Mr. Masayuki Karasawa Chief Representative of JICA Myanmar Office; U Thant Zin Maung, Myanmar’s Minister of Transport and Communications; U Win Thein, Chief minister of Bago Region; Ichiro Maruyama, Japan’s Ambassador to Myanmar; U Win Khant, Permanent Secretary of Transport and Communications; Tsuneo Iizuka, Chairman of Tokyu Construction.
OC Global President Eiji Yonezawa (L) congratulates U Thant Zin Maung, Minister of Transport and Communications, Republic of the Union of Myanmar, on the occasion of the groundbreaking ceremony for Phase 1 of the Yangon-Mandalay Railway Improvement Project.