Abstract: "Myanmar is in the process of ending a two-decade long military rule and the country?s transition to democracy is now at a critical juncture. With a promise to establish clean government and good governance, Myanmar?s government has initiated dramatic political, social and economic reforms. Acknowledging that the economy lagged behind other countries in the ASEAN region, the Myanmar government has sought opportunities to re-engage with the regional and global economy. Along with key economic reforms in the areas of fiscal and monetary policies, the government has significantly reduced restrictions on foreign direct investments (FDI), allowing a hundred percent ownership of a foreign companies in Myanmar. The government has also created new Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the coastal regions to attract FDI with unprecedented packages of tax exemptions and other investment incentives to end the long-term economic stagnation of the country. With the vision to become the regional hub of industry, trade and logistics, the government of Thailand and Myanmar agreed to construct a new special economic zone and deep seaport in Dawei on the southern Andaman coastline of Myanmar, connected via road and rail links to Kanchanaburi of Thailand. In this bilateral cross-border investment project, the Myanmar government granted a 60-year concession to Thailand?s construction company Italian-Thai Development Public Co., Ltd. (ITD) to develop the infrastructure and manage the Dawei deep seaport and SEZ. This mega project started conducting a site survey in 2008 and estimated an initial investment of more than US $8 billion was necessary for infrastructure development. This paper identifies the potential risks and benefits of the Dawei Deep Seaport and SEZ, in particular from the perspective of local communities, the Thai and Myanmar Governments and the project developers. The paper reviews the recent political and economic reforms in Myanmar, and their implications for trends in Thailand ? Myanmar trade relations. The development of the Dawei project is mapped out chronologically against Myanmar?s changing political economy to explore the context of the project?s decision-making process to date. The paper identifies a range of issues associated with the project related to political risk and various dimensions of human security including: the rule of law, the quality of foreign investments, energy, land acquisition, involuntary resettlement, compensation and environmental challenges. The paper concludes that to date key decision makers from the two governments and the ITD have focused heavily on the economic benefits of the project, paying significantly less attention to the environmental and socio-cultural impacts, and that if the project were to proceed, far greater regard needs to be played to public participation and the role of civil society."