The Ministry of Transport has announced the winning bidders for the development and upgrading of three international airports in state media on 10 August 2013. Pioneer Aerodrome Services, a subsidiary of Asia World Co., Ltd, was granted a contract to renovate Yangon International Airport, while a consortium consisting of Singapore-based Yongnam-CAPE-JGC was selected as the backup, should Pioneer fail to meet its obligations.

The project consists of expanding the airport’s capacity to 6 million from the current 2.7 million passengers per year. For the upgrading of Mandalay International Airport in Central Myanmar, a consortium between Mitsubishi Corporation, Japan’s Jalux Inc. and local SPA Project Management Ltd, a subsidiary of Yoma Strategic Holdings, was selected whereas France-based VINCI Airports qualified as a backup company. A consortium led by South Korea’s Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) was chosen for the construction of Hantharwaddy International Airport, with Yongnam-CAPE-JGC Consortium being the backup

The US$ 1.1 billion project is located in Bago Region, and will be a major hub for international and domestic flights. According to the Ministry of Transport, the airport will have a total capacity of 12 million passengers a year. IIAC aims to start airport operations by 2018 and has been granted concession for a 50 year term. According to a spokesperson from the Directorate of Civil Aviation, a binding contract between the Ministry and the consortium is to be signed within 2 months. The development of Hantharwaddy International Airport was unveiled in 1996 but stalled due to various reasons. These three projects are scheduled to begin work in early 2014