"Myanmar is allowing international investors to bid for a mammoth project to develop a special economic zone in its southernmost region following the withdrawal of the sole developer, a Thai company, which had been unable to secure partners for the venture, an official said on Monday. Chairman of the Management Committee of Dawei SEZ Han Sein told a press conference in Yangon that developer Italian-Thai Development Pcl - Thailand?s largest construction group - had terminated its work on the project in Myanmar?s Tanintharyi region to make way for international bidders. "Myanmar Port Authorities [MPA] and Italian-Thai had an agreement in place to work on this project previously," Han Sein, who is also Myanmar?s deputy minister of transport, said at the MPA office. "We ended this [agreement] because we want [to open the project up to] international investment," he said. Plans for the Dawei SEZ include a deep-sea port, industrial zone, steel plant, fertilizer plant, coal and natural gas-fired power plant and water supply system. The SEZ will have a motorway linked to Thailand?s Kanchaburi province, as well as a railroad hub, links to oil and gas pipelines, and electrical cable lines..."