Plans for the Dawei special economic zone have inched ahead after the Burmese government agreed to borrow 4.5 billion baht ($128 million) from Thailand to finance the construction of a road from Dawei’s proposed deep­-sea port to Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province.

Thailand, Japan and Burma effectively launched the US$50 billion industrial zone that will have a deep impact on trade and investment in Southeast Asia.

The the presence of the project is already undermining local agricultural and fishing livelihoods, a new report by the Tavoyan Women’s Union claims.

Burma and Thailand are expected to announce the development of the initial phase of the delayed Dawei development project next month, with Japan's involvement still on the table.

The Dawei project, located in eastern Burma, has been delayed since ousted Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra dissolved parliament last December.

The 75-year concession granted to Italian-Thai Development Plc in Dawei remains in place, but construction of the deep-sea port has stopped while the participation of international investors is being arranged, a spokesman for the Burmese government said.