HAGL launches second phase of Myanmar Centre

Vietnamese developer Hoang Anh Gia Lai has started building the second phase of its landmark Myanmar Centre, which will include two office towers and five residential towers including serviced apartments and units for sale.

The first phase of the US$440 million project included a shopping centre called Myanmar Plaza, which opened at the end of last year, and a hotel operated by Spanish chain Melia.

The second phase, which is due for completion by 2018, broke ground at a ceremony on March 19. It will include a shopping mall with retail space, a cinema, an entertainment centre and a gaming zone.

It will also include two serviced apartment towers with 360 units and two office towers. The total commercial leasing area across retail and office will be 93,742 square metres, according to a company spokesperson.

Also part of the second phase, three 32-storey residential apartment towers known as The Lake Suites, with a total of 674 units, have already gone on sale.

The units vary in size. One bedroom units are 68 sq m, two bedroom units are 88 sq m and 3 bedroom units are 119 sq m. Apartments are on sale for K300 million to K600 million each, with prices rising for higher floors.

A representative for the Association of Vietnamese Investors in Myanmar (AVIM) said that the past six years have seen strong growth in investment relationships and cooperation between Myanmar and Vietnam.

In 2010, Vietnamese foreign direct investment into Myanmar was worth $23.65 million. By December 2015, there were 73 Vietnamese enterprises invested in Myanmar with 10 projects approved by the Myanmar Investment Commission, worth a total of $691.6 million, he said.

Bilateral trade between the two countries was worth $66 million in fiscal year 2012-13, rising to $281.02 million in FY2013-14 and $321.36 million last financial year.

This year between April and August, trade between the two countries was worth $133.41 million, Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development statistics show.

The Ho Chi Minh City-listed developer signed a $300 million build- operate-transfer (BOT) contract in 2013 with the government, state media reported at the time.

Last year, the project was valued at $550 million during a joint venture bid by Singapore’s Rowsley, though the deal fell through in April. Rowsley said it had been unable to reach an agreement with HAGL over the details of the investment structure.