INDONESIA

Yangon Property Boom Squeezes Out Low-Income Workers

Yangon Property Boom Squeezes Out Low-Income Workers

As Burma's economy begins its slow path to revival, there is one sector of the economy that is already booming: the property market.

With the price of land skyrocketing, many people find their incomes are not high enough to pay for respectable accommodation.

The migrant workers in Yangon are among those who are hit the hardest... like Moe Moe, who has brought her family to Yangon from a village near the Irrawaddy delta.

After thirteen years, she still lives in a slum outside the city borders.

“Back in the countryside, land costs next to nothing. Here in Yangon, even a small plot of land costs more than 100,000 kyats. How can we afford it? We sleep together and do everything together in this very small space. There is real hardship for us here.”

Even those who have managed to move into the formal rental market still live under difficult conditions.

Driving into Yangon can take hours, and several families often share a dwelling, says another worker Daw Lwin.

“There is not really enough space for all of us. So we huddle up close together. We share the apartment with my sister’s family. The living situation is very crowded.”

Other countries in Asia have struggled for decades with the same issue, turning the larger cities into concrete jungles.

Toe Aung from Yangon’s Department of Human Settlement and Housing Development says there are projects underway that may one day make a difference.

“Many towns in Asia have solved this problem by building skyscrapers. We are trying to avoid this because of the high cost involved. Instead we are planning to expand the city boudaries.”

Many see the housing squeeze as a sense of optimism about the future of the economy.

But no one can say when the residents on the outskirts of the city will start to see the benefit...

Until today, they still condemn the hardship in the sprawling slums outside Rangoon.




  • Burma
  • housing
  • Yangon
  • property
  • DVB

Komentar (0)

KBR percaya pembaca situs ini adalah orang-orang yang cerdas dan terpelajar. Karena itu mari kita gunakan kata-kata yang santun di dalam kolom komentar ini. Kalimat yang sopan, menjauhi prasangka SARA (suku, agama, ras dan antargolongan), pasti akan lebih didengar. Yuk, kita praktikkan!