Companies granted licenses by the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) that have not implemented their projects will not be granted permission to extend their licenses, according to U Aung Kyaw Thu, the Hluttaw representative of Mon State Parliament and chairperson of the public budget scrutiny, finance planning and economics matters review committee.
“They already got a license to construct the cement plant. Then, they start constructing the plant right away. When the construction process is half finished, but not completed within 3 years, if they want to extend the permit, I think, it’s okay to permit them. But now, they already got the license, yet they have not done anything on the ground. So, it’s nonsense to extend the permit, as they are not doing anything,” said U Aung Kyaw Thu.
During the meeting with the local farmers in Pyar Taung area, at the Farmers Dialogue in Kaw Won Village, Kyaikmaraw Township, Mon State, on July 1, the MP U Aung Kyaw Thu stated that the Myanmar-Korea Cement Group should not be allowed to extend the permit, as they have not implemented anything yet.
After receiving permits from the MIC, companies are allowed to build at the site for three years. The company can request a one-and-a-half year extension with a legitimate reason. They can also request for an additional period of one-and-a-half years, so in total, a company’s construction permit can last up to six years, according to U Min Thein Oo, assistant director of the MIC.
The June Cement Industry Limited has finished 15% of its construction, and the Myanmar-Korea Cement Group has finished 10% of its construction. The reason for the delay in the construction by the companies are the companies themselves are having some difficulties running.
In Pyar Taung area, only the Mawlamyine Cement Limited (MCL) has begun its operation so far, and the June Cement Industry Limited and Myanmar Korea Cement Group were granted permits by the MIC in 2016 and 2017 respectively. However, the two cement companies have yet to operate, according to the Mon State’s Department of Investment and Companies Direction.
Mon State has 63 investment projects permitted by the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC), 33 of which are foreign investment projects (worth 5.7 billion USD). The additional 30 local investment projects are worth 769 billion Kyat.
