Y Complex is a US$300million (equivalent to $million in ) real estate development in

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. It is being built on a plot measuring owned by the

Burmese military Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include the ...

. The complex is located near Shwedagon Pagoda, at the intersection of Shwedagon Pagoda Road and

U Wisara Ven. U Wisara ( my, ဦးဝိစာရ, , pi, ; 24 April 1889 – 19 September 1929) was a Burmese Buddhist monk who died in prison after a 166-day hunger strike against the colonial British rule in Burma. The monk had been repeatedly imp ...

Roads. Y Complex will encompass of space, and house an office building, retail space, and a luxury Okura hotel. The complex is being built on the former grounds of

Jubilee Hall, Rangoon Jubilee Hall ( my, ဂျူဗလီဟော) was a colonial-era landmark in Rangoon, Burma of historical significance, and considered "one of the best appointed theatres in the Orient" during the early part of the 20th century. History Jubil ...

, a colonial-era landmark, and the Defence Services Museum. The project is being led by a Japanese-led consortium, including Fujita Corporation,

Tokyo Tatemono is a Japanese real estate company. It is listed on the Nikkei 225. Founded in 1896, Tokyo Tatemono has its headquarters in Yaesu is a district in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, located north of Ginza, west of Nihonbashi and Kyōbashi, and adjacen ...

and the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development, in partnership with an affiliate of Ayeyar Hinthar, a local conglomerate.

Controversies

The project has been the subject of significant controversy, particularly over the lack of civilian oversight and financial transparency on a US$2.18million (equivalent to $million in ) lease agreement between the Burmese military and the Yangon Technical and Trading Company, a subsidiary of

Zaw Win Shein Zaw Win Shein ( my, ဇော်ဝင်းရှိန်; born 1978) is a Burmese businessperson best known for founding Ayeyar Hinthar Holdings. He was born and raised in the Ayeyarwady Delta Region; Hinthada Township, which is Myanmar's ma ...

's Ayeyar Hinthar, which is a proxy of the

. The funds from the lease agreement flow straight into the military's Quartermaster General's office, outside of civilian oversight. Details of the lease agreement are shielded from Myanmar's Auditor-General. On February 16, 2021, Human rights organizations including

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

and

Justice For Myanmar Justice For Myanmar (abbreviated JFM) is a covert group of activists campaigning for justice and accountability for the people of Myanmar. Justice for Myanmar's public website launched on 28 April 2020. Since its launch, the group has published a ...

requested the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights to investigate the project's ties to the Myanmar military. The organizations raised concerns that in addition to the land lease payments, the project would create "immovable long-term assets for the military, which can continue to yield income after the agreement is terminated." On July 15, 2021, the same organizations called on Japanese business entities involved in the project to end their participation. Ayeyar Hinthar did not respond to allegations of partnering with the Burmese military, while the Japanese investor, Tokyo Tatemono, issued a statement pledging to develop a corporate policy around

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

. Due to its proximity to the pagoda, its buildings will have a maximum height of , to comply with the city's height restrictions for developments near the pagoda.

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.yc-ys.com.mm/ Yangon Buildings and structures in Yangon

Controversies

See also

References

External links