History
The Mandalay International Airport project was first conceived by the Burmese military government in the mid 1990s as a way to increase overall levels of foreign investment and tourism in Burma. With Yangon boasting the only other international airport for the whole country, the new Mandalay airport was regarded as crucial in achieving a planned passenger growth of 10% year on year. The hope was for Mandalay to become a hub for flights to other major Asian cities, in particular Beijing, Hanoi, Bangkok, Calcutta and Dhaka.
Construction of the airport began in 1996, and the airport was officially opened in September 2000 at a cost of US$150 million. The project was financed through a long-term loan from the Thai ExIm Bank.
The largest and most modern international airport in Burma has never met the high expectations; instead it has come to represent the military junta's money-wasting white elephant projects. The much-expected passenger growth has yet to materialize due to the continued international boycott of Burma as a tourist destination. This has negatively impacted upon the number of people traveling to and from the country, and will continue to affect the ability of Mandalay airport operating to its full capacity. Further development projects at Mandalay Airport and other parts of the country, are undermined by this situation which seems unlikely to improve in the near future.
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