Burma to Lease Over 100,000 Acres of Arakanese Land to Vietnam

Maung Aye
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Taungup: The Burmese military government is now preparing to least 129,000 acres of land in Arakan State to Vietnam for rubber cultivation, according to a report of local journal Hot News published on 13 August, 2010.

The report stated that the Burmese military authority has already agreed to lease the land to a Vietnamese company, but did not mention the name of the company.

If true, most of the land located between Taungup Township and Ma Ei Sub-Township in Southern Arakan will be leased to the Vietnamese corporation in the near future. A survey of land in the two townships, including mountain ranges near Ma Ei Sub Township, was recently completed by the survey department.

According to a local source, officials from Arakan State's survey department in Sittwe traveled to the area along with several officials from the local survey department last week to inspect and survey the lands located in the eastern and western parts of Ma Ei Township.

In Arakan State, rubber plantation projects began several years ago in 1995, and there are now 2,231 privately-owned acres of rubber plantation as well as 978 acres owned by Industry Ministry 1.

The Burmese military government also agreed to lease 50,000 acres of farm land to Bangladesh in 2007, but the project has not yet been implemented for reasons that are unknown.

Narinjara