Yangon Govt Seeks K85B For 2012-13

[SeaVisionBurma]

A passover at Shwegonedine junction in Bahan township will not be completed until the 2013-14 financial year. Yadanar / The Myanmar Times

The Yangon Region government is facing a budget shortfall of about K85.677 billion (about US$100 million) for the 2012-13 financial year, chief minister U Myint Swe told the regional hluttaw last week.

He said the budget blowout was because of the construction of four overpasses in the city, which will collectively cost K49.315 billion, although K9.238 billion of that will come under the 2013-14 budget because the Shwegondine bridge is unlikely to be finished during 2012-13, which ends on March 31.

The Hledan junction bridge in Kamaryut township will cost K14.48 billion, Shwegondine in Bahan will cost K13.38 billion and two bridges in Bayintnaung are expected to cost K21.47 billion.

“We expect that the Shwegondine bridge will only be three-quarters finished in March so we’ve put some of the costs in [the budget for the] next financial year,” U Myint Swe told the Yangon Region Hluttaw on September 27.

He said the Yangon Region government has requested K85.677 billion from the national government, which will be used to build the bridges and improve roads and water supply in the city.

Yangon Region Minister for Finance Daw San San Nwe said the Union Government had provided Yangon with K132 billion for 2012-13 but the government expected to spend K270 billion.

About K92.068 billion will be spent by Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) in 2012-13, she said.

Yangon Mayor U Hla Myint said YCDC will begin supplying an extra 45 million gallons of water a day to the city from early 2013 when Ngamoeyeik Water Supply Project 2 is completed.

YCDC will also work with local companies on other water supply improvement projects in 2013-14, he said.

“In our budget [for 2012-13], we will spend K4.907 billion on projects proposed by [Yangon Region] hluttaw representatives, mostly concerning roads and water supply,” he said.

He said YCDC is also planning a project to supply water to Dala township and Thilawa Special Economic Zone, while road maintenance will be scaled up when YCDC receives an anticipated 1 billion yen ($12.88 million) loan from Japan.

Discussing some of his government’s achievements in the year-and-a-half since it came to office, U Myint Swe said security had been “tightly” maintained to “protect the interests of residents”. Meanwhile, 213 people had been convicted of involvement in 99 murder cases between February and September.

“We helped solve 598 labour disputes in industrial zones this year and we were able to create 115,841 jobs for Yangon residents,” he said, adding that these were mostly in factories.

But residents said more priority needed to be given to improving transportation in the city.

“I spend almost two-and-a-half hours a day on the bus to get from my home [in Shwe Pyi Thar] to my office in downtown. That’s five hours of my life wasted each day because of the shocking traffic,” said Ko Win Zaw, 36.

http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/2008-yangon-govt-seeks-k85b-for-2012-13.html