BritCham Market Focus: Repaving the Ancient Silk Routes: Realising the opportunities along the Belt and Road

In collaboration with PwC Myanmar, we cordially invite you to attend PwC One Belt One Road Breakfast roundtable titled “Repaving the Ancient Silk Routes: Realizing the opportunities along the Belt and Road”. PwC Expert Mark Rathbone (Partner, Capital Projects & Infrastructure, PwC Singapore) will be sharing the insights on the Belt and Road initiatives (B&R) and how these affect the countries such as Myanmar.

Review of capital project and deal activity in the countries that fall under the B&R finds that over US$490bn of projects and deals were announced in 2016 across seven core infrastructure sectors (Utilities, Transport, Telecoms, Social, Construction, Energy and Environment). A third of all these were in China, with the remainder spread across the rest of the B&R region.

• PwC B&R Watch finds a positive picture in 2016, with an increase in the volume and the average dollar value of infrastructure projects
• In China, the average project size increased by 14% - largely driven by public expenditure on infrastructure as a central pillar of economic policy
• Merger & Acquisition activity points to a decline in volume and dollar value, reflecting a flight to quality and renewed focus on project economics.
• The review uncovers striking growth in the size of capital projects across the B&R region. The value of the average project was 47% higher than in 2015.

Since the opening of Myanmar’s economy in 2011, the country’s commercial and financial capital Yangon has undergone rapid urbanization and economic growth. The fast pace of development has strained the city’s infrastructure and worsened traffic congestion. Breakneck development in Yangon has led to a surge in demand for energy, weighing on the city’s aging power distribution network. This has resulted in frequent power outages. Aided by the World Bank and the United Nations, the Myanmar government has developed a National Electrification Plan to achieve full electrification by 2030. There are also plans to increase the nation’s power generating capacity from 5,235MW to 29,000MW by 2031.

To realize the nation’s economic potential, Myanmar needs to improve connectivity and mobility pressingly. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates that Myanmar would need to invest US$45bn to US$60bn in transportation projects through 2030 to enhance transport links.

B&R can serve as an enabler for Myanmar to develop its infrastructure and establish critical energy and transport connectivity with the region. However, what can Myanmar do to better prepare itself to overcome these challenges and tap new opportunities?

More information can be downloaded here.​