China Railway Engineering Co Ltd (CREC) has proposed to construct a circular railway in Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, through a public-private partnership (PPP) or build-operate-transfer (BOT) concession.

The proposed PPP model would involve issuing equity in the project to the government and the public, while the BOT model would see CREC granted a 50-year concession to run the railway and then transferring ownership of the asset to the government.

CREC has also proposed two versions of the railway - one built on existing rail lines, and the other an elevated system. The latter is currently seen as more feasible, as the former would require a problematic amount of land acquisition.

The suggested route connects Kyeemyindaing train station to Mingaladon and also Kyauk Yay Dwin to Yangon International Airport. The elevated railway would accommodate trains travelling up to 80 kilometres per hour and efficiently transport about 90,000 passengers a day.

The projected construction cost is US$1.5 billion, with works to be completed with 36 months of beginning the design phase.

CREC is currently in discussions with the Yangon regional government. If the parties reach a consensus on the structure of the project, the proposal will be submitted to the national economic committee and union government for approval. It will then be debated in parliament.

At this stage, the project would be tendered, with national and international entities invited to bid for CREC's proposal. As discussions are currently only in a preliminary phase, no schedule has been set out for the development of the railway.