Land prices in the city of Pegu are soaring amid the construction of various development projects in the area, including the Hantharwaddy International Airport, industrial zones and suburban housing estates.

According to local residents and real estate agents, the price of land in the choicest areas of Pegu, previously valued between 200,000 and 300,000 kyat (US$200-$300) per 80x100ft plot, has skyrocketed to over 100 million kyat (more than US$100,000) – a breathtaking 500 times the price of just two or three years ago.

South Korean firm Incheon Airport Consortium beat tender bids from six international rivals to build a new major airport for the country, situated north of Rangoon in Pegu region, some nine times the size and capacity of Rangoon International Airport. Hantharwaddy Airport is scheduled to be completed by 2018.

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“The sudden demand for land in this area is undoubtedly down to the new airport and other major developments,” said Win Htwe of Htike Aung Real Estate Service in Pegu.

Local resident Kyaw Thu Min who lives near the site of the new airport, said that if the buyer demand continues, prices will be another 50 percent higher by the end of this year.

He claimed that various businessmen in Rangoon had previously bought up much of the land and were now “flipping” it for a massive profit.

He pointed to the airport route, the Myoshaung Road, Semyaung Road, and the Pegu-Mandalay Highway as specific areas where real estate prices have increased exponentially.

Kaung Khant, a real estate agent in Rangoon, said that business consortiums in the former capital continue to seek land-purchase opportunities in Pegu.

But he warned of “flippers” or investors who buy up large parcels of land just to resell them again quickly to new buyers, thereby pushing the prices up even more.