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Kyaukphyu

Coordinates: 19°26′0″N 93°33′0″E / 19.43333°N 93.55000°E / 19.43333; 93.55000
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Kyaukpyu
Template:My
Country Myanmar
DivisionRakhine State
DistrictKyaukpyu District
TownshipKyaukpyu Township
Population
 (1983)
 • Total
19,456
 • Ethnicities
Arakanese
 • Religions
Buddhism
Time zoneUTC+6.30 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC19° 26' 0" North, 93° 33' 0" East
Area code+95-43-46-xxx
[1]

Kyaukpyu (Template:Lang-my [tɕaʊʔpʰjú mjo̰]; also spelled Kyaukphyu) is a major town in Rakhine State, in western Myanmar. It is located on the north western corner of Yanbye Island on Combermere Bay, and is 250 miles (400 km) northwest of Yangon. The town is situated on a superb natural harbor which connects the rice trade between Calcutta and Yangon. The estimated population in 1983 was 19,456 inhabitants.[2]

Etymology

The name Kyaukpyu (lit. "white rock") is the Burmese pronunciation or the local Yangbye pronunciation of the natives of Kyaukpyu. In standard Arakanese, the town's name is pronounced "Kyaukpru". The old Kyaukpyu is situated 7 miles from the present town where two colossal white rocks exist.

History

The place where the present town was originally a small fishing village in the 17th Century[citation needed]. After the first Anglo-Burmese War, the British established Kyaukpyu in 1837 on the spot of the fishing village. In 1852, Kyaukphyu became a district city.[3]

On October 22, 2010, Cyclone Giri made landfall on the west coast of Myanmar just north of the town at category five strength.

Climate

Kyaukpyu has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am). Temperatures are very warm throughout the year, although the winter months (December–February) are somewhat milder. There is a winter dry season (December–April) and a summer wet season (May–November). Torrential rain falls from June to August, with over 1,200 millimetres (47 in) falling in July alone.

Climate data for Kyaukpyu
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 26.3
(79.3) 		27.4
(81.3) 		29.4
(84.9) 		31.8
(89.2) 		32.4
(90.3) 		29.4
(84.9) 		28.7
(83.7) 		28.7
(83.7) 		29.9
(85.8) 		30.5
(86.9) 		29.3
(84.7) 		27.2
(81.0) 		29.2
(84.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 17.4
(63.3) 		18.1
(64.6) 		21.1
(70.0) 		24.2
(75.6) 		25.5
(77.9) 		24.4
(75.9) 		24.1
(75.4) 		24.3
(75.7) 		23.0
(73.4) 		24.4
(75.9) 		22.8
(73.0) 		19.2
(66.6) 		22.4
(72.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 5
(0.2) 		8
(0.3) 		3
(0.1) 		32
(1.3) 		253
(10.0) 		1,012
(39.8) 		1,232
(48.5) 		989
(38.9) 		575
(22.6) 		270
(10.6) 		89
(3.5) 		13
(0.5) 		4,481
(176.3)
Source: NOAA (1961-1990) [4]

Demographics

The town is predominantly Buddhist but there is a small Muslim community of fishermen. However, in 2012, satellite imagery showed the complete destruction of a Muslim quarter of the town as part of the 2012 Rakhine State riots.[5]

Quarters or Wards

  • Eastern Quarter
  • Western Quarter
  • Central Quarter
  • Myit Nar Dan Quarter
  • Zayditaung Quarter
  • Asoeya Quarter
  • Ayarshi Quarter
  • Thanbanchaung Quarter
  • Paikseik (West) Quarter
  • Paikseik (East) Quarter

Attractions

  • Kyaukpyu Viewpoint, or more popularly known as Point is perhaps the most well known attraction in Kyaukpyu. It is at the end of the Strand Road and looks out into the Bay of Bengal and the mouth of the Thanzit (Kyaukpyu) River.
  • Gant-gaw-taw, is one of the most sacred Buddhist shrine, believed to have built in the Vesali period.
  • Kyauk-ta-lone phaya, built by King Min-ba in the Mrauk U period, is the focal point of Kyaukpyu's Buddhist environment, beside Gant-gaw-taw shrine.

Education

Teacher training college (TTC) was opened in Kyaukpyu in 1953. Now, this college is known as "Kyaukpyu Education College". In 1954, Kyaukpyu Intermediate College for Arakan, the embryo of Sittwe University was opened in Kyaukpyu.

Other

Maurice Collis, a famous British writer, lived in Kyaukpyu in 1920s. His house, situated outskirts of Kyaukpyu is maintained as a historic building.

Economy

In June 2007, Asia World announced that it would be building a deep sea port on Maday Island in Kyaukphyu, Rakhine State.[6] The port will be a transit point for goods destined for Yangon, Kolkata, and Chittagong.[7] In December 2008, China and Burma signed a deal to construct an oil pipeline at Kyaukphyu.[8] On 30 November 2010, the China Development Bank and Myanmar Foreign Investment Bank signed a $2.4 billion loan deal to construct the 660 miles (1,060 km) pipeline from Kyaukphyu to Kunming in Yunnan province, China.[9] The pipeline is expected to be completed in 2015 and capable of transporting 400,000 barrels of oil per day.[8] These construction projects will allow China to directly obtain oil and gas from the Middle East (via the port terminal at Kyaukphyu),thereby avoiding shipping through the Malacca Straits.[10]

Separately, as reported by the Financial Times in February 2013,[11] nearly 2,000 workers are finalising close to Kyaukphyu, a major natural gas projects, the Shwe gas pipeline and onshore terminal. This terminal and pipeline are being built by South Korea’s Daewoo International in a consortium with state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and others. From May 2013, this pipeline is planned to pump about 12bn cubic metres of natural gas annually, most of which will also go to China via nearby Maday island.

These oil and gas Sino-Burma pipelines projects are supervized by a Myanmar "Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone" agency and are estimated to use about U$3bn of investments and to have the potential of creating over 200,000 jobs, while additional capital will be required to develop a port for dry containerized and bulk cargoes, as well as a railway which will link Kyaukphyu to Kunming, in Yunnan. This railway project would be 1,215 km long, and its design and construction are subject to a preliminary agreement between Myanmar's and China's government.

Myanmar government officials have stated that these massive projects will be conducted with enhanced consultation with the local population. In this respect, there has already been protests by some locals against the consequences of some of these projects, such as potential impact on fishing or land confiscations which may be conducted by authorities for these terminals and pipelines. A December 2012 report by the "Arakan Oil Watch" organization about plans to build a special economic zone near Kyaukphyu on Ramree Island in Arakan State, claimed it would "endanger the health of thousands of people and destroy Myanmar’s second largest mangrove forest". The report, titled “Danger Zone,” states that around 40 villages would be adversely affected by the project, which would use 120 km2 of pristine coastline.

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Telephone Area Codes". Myanmar Yellow Pages.
  2. ^ "Kyaukpyu". Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  3. ^ Kyaukpyu township Gazeteers.
  4. ^ "Kayukpyu Climate Normals 1961-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  5. ^ http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21565638-why-buddhists-and-muslims-rakhine-state-myanmar-are-each-others%E2%80%99-throats-unforgiving
  6. ^ "B'desh eyes deep-sea port near Myanmar". Myanmar Times. 30 July 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  7. ^ Ye Lwin (16 July 2007). "Exports to get lift from new shipping companies". Myanmar Times. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  8. ^ a b Kean, Thomas (30 November 2009). "Kyaukphyu-Yunnan oil pipeline to be completed by end of 2015". Myanmar Times. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  9. ^ Shwe Gaung, Juliet (13 December 2010). "Massive loan from China to fund gas investment". Myanmar Times. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  10. ^ "Kyaukphyu port has strategic value". Myanmar Times. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  11. ^ http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/76d2e3fc-6bb8-11e2-a700-00144feab49a.html#axzz2KFqLeUzW

19°26′0″N 93°33′0″E / 19.43333°N 93.55000°E / 19.43333; 93.55000

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