By Myat Nyein Aye, Kyaw Phone Kyaw | Wednesday, 13 May 2015
MARGA Landmark has issued a statement clarifying its
mixed-use Dagon City One project and warned against what it calls
critics spreading wrong information and engaging in groundless
speculation.
Dagon City One is one of five projects that
have been temporarily suspended by government authorities since
February, following public concern that the projects may affect the view
of nearby Shwedagon Pagoda or disturb its foundation.
Marga is
made up of a number of international and local investors, and is the
owner of perhaps the most prominent of the five paused projects in Dagon
township. Four other projects – by Thu Kha Yadanar, Shwe Taung Hyday,
Shwe Taung Development and Adventure Myanmar – have also been
temporarily suspended.
Marga said in the statement that while its
plans have been publicly known since receiving Myanmar Investment
Commission approval in March 2014 and opening a temporary gallery in
June 2014, it only started facing harsh comments and baseless accusation
in January 2015, raised by a small number of individuals and parties.
“These
individuals and parties had not contacted or reached out to us to find
out and clarify the facts,” it said. “They continued telling wrong
information and making groundless speculations and allegations in spite
of the fact that Dagon City One has been and is following and abiding by
the law and the approved plans.”
It added the board of directors
of Marga Landmark is prepared to take legal action against individuals
who have repeatedly made personal defamatory comments with inaccurate
information and prejudice, causing losses to Marga.
While Marga
did not name any person or entity in particular in the statement, one of
their foremost critics has been U Khin Hlaing, an elected member of
Yangon City Development Committee.
He has been one of the most
outspoken figures opposing the project, criticising the project in local
media. Besides being a YCDC committee member, he is also a publisher,
sells religious robes and owns the Myanmar Big Shops Shopping Mall near
Shwedagon Pagoda. He told
The Myanmar Times on May 11 that he “would absolutely not allow” the project to move forward.
U Khin Hlaing said he is responsible for the district of Yangon containing the project.
“I
am vested with authority from the people, and I say no through this
authority,” he said. Asked whether he was concerned he may be at risk
for legal action as outlined by Marga, he said it was his duty as an
elected representative to voice the public’s concerns.
U Khin
Hlaing said he was appealing directly to the Tatmadaw to reconsider the
long-term lease it had given Marga and the other four developers.
“Please,
Tatmadaw, love your land, take back what’s yours and make a beneficial
project for the people or for the Tatmadaw that will save Shwedagon
Pagoda,” he said.
U Khin Hlaing also said that it was not only Dagon City One but the other four projects that are the target of his criticism.
The
five projects are temporarily paused until YCDC gives approval to move
forward. Marga says it received initial permission from the Myanmar
Investment Commission in March 2014, including for the master plan and
height limit of Dagon City One.
“All works have been prepared according to what we have been approved [to do],” it said.
Authorities
subsequently paused the five projects in February, and the Myanmar
Investment Commission had industry body the Myanmar Engineering Society
conduct a review. The society’s review confirmed Dagon City One’s plans
are compliant with what has been approved by the Myanmar Investment
Commission and YCDC, according to Marga. It added that a special task
force was appointed to focus on water drainage and on road systems.
YCDC
Department of Engineering deputy director U Nay Win said on May 11 he
would not comment on the five suspended projects, as they are still
under analysis.Other experts have entered the debate. U Thant Myint-U, a
noted historian as well as founder and chair of the Yangon Heritage
Trust, tweeted in February that it was a “brave decision” for Yangon
government to suspend a project near Shwedagon.
Yesterday, Yangon
Heritage Trust vice chair and director Daw Moe Moe Lwin said the
organisation welcomed the regional government and MIC’s decision to stop
the current works in order to make a full reassessment of the Marga
project.
“Being next to the nationally significant Shwedagon
Pagoda and other historic religious sites, this project should be
considered very carefully for its potential impacts before any decision
is made,” she said.
“Any proposed project in the vicinity of the
Shwedagon or other important cultural heritage sites must be carefully
assessed for their heritage, environmental and social impacts before any
decision is made.”
Daw Moe Moe Lwin also said the trust would
like to see careful assessments of the long-term impacts of the project.
She added that no YHT staff or management has met with representatives
of Dagon City or provided advice to the project.
Independent
experts said that while the five projects are near sensitive Shwedagon
Pagoda, there are many similar instances around the world where
construction has taken place near important structures.
U Zaw Zaw
Aye, managing director of SEAFCO (Myanmar), a firm with experience
building large projects on a contract basis, said experienced designers
and firms can build foundations in a way that does not affect other
nearby structures. The five paused projects are about 500 metres (1640
feet) from Shwedagon at their closest point.
“If they build near
sensitive buildings, care must taken and there must be good plans and
designs done with skilled technical engineering – then the projects can
be built,” he said.
“In the world, there are so many buildings that are near important buildings, but sensitive construction is still completed.”
He
added Shwedagon Pagoda is not only iconic, but a religious site,
meaning there are many emotions tied to the project, which may also
affect decisions .
Additional reporting by Jeremy Mullins
