HyalRoute Fiber Optic Cable Network Project (MIGA-3512)

Countries
  • Myanmar
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Nov 3, 2016
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Communications
  • Construction
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Guarantee
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 105.74 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 118.60 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Other Related Projects
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ MIGA website

Updated in EWS Sep 16, 2019

Disclosed by Bank Sep 26, 2016

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

On January 24, 2017, MIGA issued a guarantee of $105.74 million covering an investment by Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (the “Lender”) into the HyalRoute Fiber Optic Cable Network Project in Myanmar. The coverage is for a period of up to five years against the risks of currency inconvertibility and transfer restriction, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance.

The project involves the construction of a 4,500 km fiber optic cable network in Myanmar by Myanmar Fiber Optic Communication Network Co., Ltd. It constitutes the first part of the phase II project. The total investment for the project is estimated at US$118.6 million, including US$18.6 million in equity from HyalRoute Communication Group Limited and US$100 million in debt financing from the Lender. Construction for the project is expected to start in February 2017.

Installation of FOC involves digging a trench approximately 50 cm wide and 1.2 – 1.5 m deep, laying the FOC and then back filling the trench. In urban areas FOC is duct buried, and in urban outskirts and rural areas the FOC is directly buried. The FOC network includes the construction of ‘core facilities’, where FOC connects to communications equipment. Two types of core facilities will be built: Type A (200 m2 ) and Type B (60 m2 ). Both facilities will include a base transceiver station (BTS), electricity transformer, backup generator and an area reserved for telecommunication towers (if required). Type A core facilities will also have an equipment laydown area and accommodation for the maintenance teams. Core facilities have a dual purpose: i) to provide greater capacity for the operators in the telecommunication sector and ii) to improve both outdoor and indoor coverage for service providers

The project's major expected development impact is the improvement of the telecommunications infrastructure sector and promotion of economic growth in Myanmar. The construction of the fiber optic cable as part of the national network is expected to: increase access to telecom services in urban and rural areas; provide additional tax revenues for the government; and boost economic activity and employment opportunities, directly and indirectly, during the construction and operational phases. The project is in line with the Government of Myanmar's Telecom Master Plan (2016-2020), which promotes fiber optic cable network development and foreign direct investment in the telecom sector.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Mr Lin Chao Hsiang (Roye), PR Department
lin.chaohsiang@mfocn.com.mm
Mr Stanley Jiang, Project Coordinator
stanley.jiang@hyalroute.com

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF MIGA
The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org. You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org/

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How it works