Myanmar to draft policy for setting up foreign auto assembly plants

Myanmar will draft a comprehensive policy in months to enable foreign automakers to establish assembly plants in the country, reports said here Thursday.

A committee is to be formed to develop the policy involving the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Myanmar Engineering Society and Myanmar Automobile Manufacturers and Distributors Association.

The setting up of the automobile policy drafting committee will be made in cooperation with the Ministries of Industry, Commerce, Finance and Rail Transportation, the report said.

The formulation of the policy is drawing attention from foreign countries, especially East Asian countries, seeking opportunities to set up such plants in Myanmar, officials said, adding that standard in the policy will prevent Myanmar from becoming a dumping ground for old cars when the ASEAN Economic Community is launched this year.

The policy would also include safety standard as well as rules phasing out old cars.

Since September 2011, Myanmar has laid down a program to substitute private-owned vehicles of more than four decades of age with new ones, canceling the validity of such registered vehicles which amounted to over 55,000, according to figures.

According to the Department of Road Transport Administration, there was a total of 4.76 million registered motor vehicles as of the end of September 2014, of which 449,089 are passenger cars while 169,685 are trucks, 23,173 buses, 4.053 million motorcycles and 74,063 others. Endi