For economic, social and regional development, more transport facilities are being provided and construction works such as building of new roads, rail tracks and bridges have been carried out. As a result, accessibility to various cities and towns throughout the country has improved.

New roads and bridges have been constructed in the Ayeyarwady Division to lessen the dependency on the waterways transportation.

All major urban centres are connected by rails. Distances between some major connections by rail are as follows:

Yangon to Myitkyina	1,162km ( 722 miles )
Yangon to Mandalay	620 km ( 385 miles )
Yangon to Lashio	901 km ( 560 miles)
Yangon to Mawlamyine	287 km ( 178 miles)
Yangon to Pyay	259 km ( 161 miles)

Airways

There are 59 domestic air fields in the country of which four are International Airports, namely Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan / Nyaung-Oo and Heho.

Domestic air transport is served exclusively by Myanma Airways, a public enterprise.

With regard to international air service, "Myanma Airways International" has flights to neighbouring countries, such as Thailand, Hongkong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur at present. Several international airlines such as Thai Airways International, Silk Air, China Airlines, Biman, Aeroflot and Nepal Airlines have air services via Yangon while others such as KLM, Air France and Northwest Orient Airlines have branch offices in Yangon.

Air Mandalay Ltd. was granted a "Permit" to invest in October 1994 and will soon be operating scheduled domestic flights for Yangon - Mandalay - Yangon and chartered flights for domestic as well as international routes. Chartered regular flight (domestic) passengers shall be interline passengers of International flights. International flights are mainly to Chaingmai from Yangon, Mandalay and Tachileik and to Phuket from Yangon.

For information regarding air rates and fares, enquiries can be made at the following addresses:

Myanma Airways	- 104, Strand Road.
Myanma Airways International	- 123, Sule Pagoda Road.
KLM	- 104, Strand Road.
Thai Airways International	- 441/445, Maha Bandoola St.
Biman Airline	- 106, Pansodan St.
Air France	- 69, Sule Pagoda Road.
Aeroflot Airline	- 290 (A), Pyay Road.
China Airline	- 104, Strand Road.
North West Orient Airlines	- 36, Shwebontha St.
Silk Air	- 537, Merchant St.
Nepal Airlines	- 104, Strand Road.

Inland Waterways

Myanmar has a large inland water transport network.

.	Navigable Stretch	.
Ayeyarwady River	1550 km (963 miles)	From Yesagyo to Hkamti
Chindwin River	792 km (492 miles)	.
Sittoung River	not navigable due to strong currents, but useful for rafting logs	.
Thanlwin River	89 km (55 miles)	From Mawlamyine to Shwegun
Kaladan River	177 km (110 miles)	From Sittway to Paletwa
Saing Tin River	129 km (80 miles)	From Sittway to Buthidaung

Shipping

The main international port in the country is Yangon which handles over 90 per cent of the sea-borne trade of the country. Although the mainstay of the cargo carried is break-bulk conventional cargo, container traffic is also catered for.

Myanma Five Star Line ( MFSL ) is the State-owned shipping line which operates coastal and overseas transport services with a fleet of twenty one vessels.

Coastal Service:

Rakhine Coastline

Thandwe Port	360 nautical miles
Kyaukpyu Port	465 nautical miles
Sittway Port	530 nautical miles

Tanintharyi Coastline

Mawlamyine Port	135 nautical miles
Dawei Port	270 nautical miles
Myeik Port	360 nautical miles
Kawthaung Port	450 nautical miles

Overseas Services:

Myanmar and U K / Continent	monthly
Myanmar and Far East (Hong Kong / Republic of Korea / Japan)	monthly
Myanmar and Singapore	average three sailings per month

Apart from the above liner services, MFSL also operates services to the east and west coasts of India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and People's Republic of China, subject to availability of cargo. Moreover, MFSL also operates tramping service as and when it is necessary. Although its main cargo carried is break-bulk conventional cargo, container traffic is catered for in the Far East liner service between Yangon and Japan and South Korea where twenty foot containers and reefer containers are carried. Container service is also available from Yangon to Singapore.

Although there is no direct service to U S A and Canada, a transshipment agreement has been entered into with Nippon Yusen Kaisha Line ( NYK )Japan, under which MFSL serves the Myanmar / Japan sector and NYK serves the Japan U S A and Canada sector. A similar transshipment arrangement has been made with Australian National Line ( ANL ), whereby ANL serves the Australia / Singapore sector and MFSL serves the Myanmar / Singapore sector. Apart from MFSL, there are also other foreign shipping lines entering Myanmar Ports, of which Nippon Yusen Kaisha Line, Eastern Car Liner Ltd.(Japan ), Bangkok Container Line Co., Ltd.(Bangkok), Lian Huat Shipping and Foong Sun Shipping (Pte) Ltd. (Singapore) are the five regular shipping lines at present.

Communication services are rendered through 1166 post offices, 122195 telephones, 381 telegraph offices, 225 telex services and 561 facsimiles. Television programmes are being telecast to 190 townships through the microwave channel. Automatic telephones are installed in 53 towns and the other towns can be communicated through a network of exchanges. Myanmar has direct satellite links to eight countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, India, U K, Australia and Indonesia. Most of the countries of the world can be connected via the above eight gateways. International Direct Dialling ( IDD ) for overseas calls from Myanmar is available. To improve communication services, 3 communication radio stations for the cellular mobile telephone system which was introduced in December 1993, were constructed.

In order to be compatible with the Myanmar Telecommunication Network, telecommunication equipment to be imported must meet the following specifications:

		Specifications
1	Telex Machine CCITT International Alphabet No. 2, Transmission Speed :	Telex operation 50 bauds
2	Facsimile Machine Compatibility :	CCITT Group 2 or Group 3
3	Transceiver System HF, SSB : VHF Mobile : VHF Handheld :	Maximum power output not more than 150 watts Maximum power output not more than 40 watts Maximum power output not more than 5 watts

(Synthesizer controlled transceivers can be imported but must be used only with those frequencies assigned by the Posts and Telecommunications Department)

Domestic production and distribution of petroleum and petroleum products is undertaken by the State-owned Enterprise. The main petroleum products available at the prices indicated against them below are:

Sr.No.	Commodity	A/C unit	Kyats	Mixed Price
				US$	Kyats
1	M.S.	IG	25.00	1.32	10.55
2	H.S.D.	IG	20.00	1.12	5.08
3	Kerosene	IG	15.00	1.46	7.85
4	F.O.	IG	12.00	1.21	3.05
5	A.T.F.	IG	35.00	1.46	7.85

Myanma Electric Power Enterprise ( MEPE ), under the Ministry of Energy, is responsible for the planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation of electric supply facilities and the sale of electricity throughout Myanmar. By the end of the year 1993/94 the total installed capacity of MEPE was 818 megawatts, of which 291 megawatts was hydroelectric, 357 megawatts gas turbines, and 170 megawatts diesel and other thermal units.

The National Grid System covers the southern and central parts of Myanmar and electricity generation within the National Grid System is about 95 per cent of the total generation. The main source of hydroelectricity in the National Grid System is Baluchaung No. 2 ( Lawpita ) Power Station in Kayah State. For regions outside the National Grid System area, electricity is generated mostly by diesel and mini hydroelectric power stations. Altogether 314 towns and 956 villages are electrified.

The favourable geographic and hydrological conditions in Myanmar provide it with abundant potential for hydropower development. The explored hydropower potential is approximately 24,737 MW of which only about one per cent has been harnessed so far.

Electricity is supplied to consumers with 3 phase 400v / single phase 230v, 50 Hz AC.

The prevailing tariff rates are as follows:

Kyats

Sr.No.	Category	A/C unit	Govt.Dept.	Other than Govt.
1	General Purpose	kwh	0.50	2.50
2	Domestic Power	kwh	0.50	3.00
3	Small Power	kwh	0.50	3.00
4	Industrial	kwh	0.50	3.00
5	Large Industrial	kwh	0.50	3.00

Note: Electricity tariff to be paid in US $ is US 0.08 per unit.

Leasable Land

In the Union of Myanmar, according to the existing laws, land is solely owned by the State. Foreign economic enterprises and individuals may lease land for their business, subject to the Transfer of Immovable Property Registration Law 1987, regarding the lease of land to foreign economic enterprises and individuals.

There is a guideline with respect to the leasing of land for foreign investment. Longer lease periods are considered for projects with heavy investment. The rates vary depending on the type of land use and its location.

Land may be leased up to 30 years, and may be extended upon negotiation. The rates are subject to review after every 5 years from the date of the lease. For high-rise buildings, annual land lease rates are based on the floor area.

The right to cultivate / utilise cultivable, fallow and waste land for agricultural, livestock breeding, aquaculture and other affiliated economic enterprises can be applied for.