Burma
Mandalay Hill. / The Irrawaddy
Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) has raised over US$9 million in just over two and half days from the sale of land in Mandalay illegally seized by the Myanmar military.
To raise funds for the ongoing revolution against the military regime, the NUG’s Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment (MOPFI) launched ‘Spring Mandalay Investment’ on October 1, a month after a similar scheme was launched in Yangon.
Under the new project, MOPFI is auctioning off a total of 980 plots of land in Ye Tagun Taung in Patheingyi Township, east of Mandalay Hill in Aungmyaythazan Township and south of Aung San Suu Kyi Street in Maha Aung Myay Township. All the plots of land were illegally confiscated by the military.
As of Monday morning, 579 of the plots – almost 60 per cent of the total – had been sold, raising almost US$9.3 million. MOPFI said that even before the official launch of the scheme, the ministry had received pre-orders for over 300 plots of land.
“The belief of the people and their determination and enthusiasm for the revolution is truly amazing,” MOPFI said on the Facebook page for the project.
The NUG hopes to raise a total of US$24 million from the land sales.
MOPFI urged more people to contribute, saying that the military dictatorship will spare no one and is even attacking schools and killing children, and that its atrocities will only end with the success of the revolution.
Valued at one-third of the market price, the plots range from US$20,000 to US$800,000, based on their size and location. More details of the project are available here.
The ministry said that the plots of land will later be developed into housing projects and that buyers are only required to pay 40 per cent of the price initially, with the remainder to be paid after the success of the revolution.
A similar scheme in Yangon has proved equally successful. Some 400 plots of land offered for sale in Thanthumar in Yangon’s Mayangone Township sold out on the first day they went on sale. The NUG is continuing to sell the remaining plots available in Yangon.
In May, the NUG also put junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s illegally seized property in Yangon at 14 Inya Road on sale, raising US$10 million.
