Myanmar has designated a land plot in the new administrative capital of Nay Pyi Taw to establish an industrial zone there to develop industry, the local Weekly Eleven News reported Tuesday.

The 210,060 square-meter initially planned for industrial zone is located near the Kyaukchat village in Pyinmana township covered by the new capital region.

The area of the zone is to be extended in the future, the report said.

According to an earlier official report which quoted the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, a cattle breeding zone project in Nay Pyi Taw has also been planned which is likely to be aided by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) .

The zone, which comprises three townships and mainly breeds milk cows in a bid to meet the daily rising demand of milk in the new capital region and reduce import of milk and other dairy products, is scheduled to start implementation by this month to cover breeding of 20,000 milk cows, 100,000 ducks and one million chickens.

Meanwhile, Myanmar will enact a special economic zone (SEZ) law this year, aiming to absorb inflow of more foreign investment into the country to promote its economic development, official sources disclosed.

It is expected that granting of special privileges to foreign investors setting up SEZ will be contained in the law which directs at the emergence of the exceptional Thilawa SEZ in Yangon's Thanlyin township, the prospective first full foreign investment SEZ in Myanmar.

Besides, establishment of three other Thai-proposed special industrial zones, located in Myawaddy and Hpa-an in southeastern Kayin state and Mawlamyine in southern Mon state is also underway. The project constitutes part of an economic cooperation strategy ( ECS) program agreed upon at a summit of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand held in Myanmar's ancient city of Bagan in November 2003.

Under the Ayeyawaddy-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) agreed by the four countries, the three Thai- proposed industrial zone projects are estimated to start in 2007.

As part of its plan of industrial development, Myanmar has established in the early stage 19 local industrial zones across the country with a total of 9,574 industrial enterprises in operation which include small, medium and heavy industries.

According to official statistics, Myanmar's industrial sector contributed 17.5 percent to the gross domestic product of the nation in the fiscal year 2005-06 and a 19-percent contribution is targeted for 2006-07 (April-March).

The private sector's contribution to the industrial sector stands at 92.36 percent, statistics also show.

Source: Xinhua