"The Myanmar government has yet to respond to the Chinese, given that talks to develop the SEZ with Italian-Thai Development Company Ltd (ITD) as well as the Thai and Japanese governments are at advanced stages. However, analysts aren’t ruling out the possibility. “Dawei SEZ has taken a long time to take shape and isn’t going as planned. As we don’t have the funds to implement it, if the current investors cannot develop the project effectively, then Chinese companies are our only options,” said U Zaw Win Pe, a local analyst and former economic adviser to parliament. “We’ll complete negotiations with the ITD first. If we cannot agree to the terms of the project, we can cancel the contract when it expires. I think the Chinese have the capacity to develop this project, but we’ll have to wait and see if ITD would be able to do it within the specified period,” U Zaw Win Pe added. The Chinese are expected to reap strategic benefits if they win Dawei SEZ. “China is already developing the Kyauk Phyu SEZ in Rakhine State. China is building a bullet train route from Kunming, China to Bangkok in Thailand. If they can connect that route to Dawei SEZ, it will be a great achievement for China. If China wins [Dawei SEZ], they will connect this route,” U Myint San said..."