Plans to build a new sewage treatment plant in Yangon are well underway, according to sources close to the Yangon City Development Committee. Sources say the YCDC had chosen a six-acre plot in eastern Yangon to construct the plant, which is expected to take a couple of years.
"The site, known as Thanlyet Soon, has been chosen for the new plant not only because it improves the existing century-old sewage disposal system, but also because it is near the confluence of Pazun Daung creek and Bago river, allowing treated sewage to be discharged into natural waterways," sources said.
The YCDC sources said the project value together with the projected plant's capacity was being assessed, and the decision about whether the concession to build and/or operate the plant will be given to a private investor depends on the results of this study.
A YCDC report said sewage in Yangon city area, especially in the downtown area, was discharged through the pipelines of the old existing system, and pumped without treatment into the Yangon River via Pan Hlaing and Hlaing rivers, and Pazun Daung creek.
The old sewage system, built in 1888, was designed to serve a population of about 40,000, and it is now servicing more than 300,000 people.