H.E. Mr. MARUYAMA Ichiro, Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and Hon. Mr. Ye Mon, Vice Mayor of Mandalay signed grant contracts for “the Project for Improving Waste Management in Mandalay City” on 24th March 2020. The Government of Japan, under Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) Scheme, will provide US $ 187,500.

Mandalay City is now under the way of solid waste management improvement, in line with the “Waste Management Strategy and Action Plan for Mandalay City (2017-2030)”. However, as the population grows, the amount of garbage is seriously increasing year by year, and MCDC has difficulty in providing enough garbage collection service throughout the city. Moreover, insufficiency of the service leads to illegal disposal, which causes insanitary environment and health problems to the people. To resolve this problem, MCDC requested support to the Embassy of Japan to purchase three Isuzu garbage compactors for Amarapura and Pyi Gyi Tagon Townships.

To assist the city and help the people, Embassy of Japan decided to provide US $ 187,500 as grant. In addition, Mitsubishi Corporation and MSP Motors Limited, which are the suppliers of the Isuzu garbage compactors, will provide complimentary technical assistance to the truck drivers and operators of MCDC. This project is the first public-private partnership project as GGP in Myanmar.

The Government of Japan has assisted 932 grass-roots projects in Myanmar under the GGP scheme since 1993, including 493 education projects, 201 healthcare projects, 141 public welfare and environment projects, 61 infrastructure projects and 36 others, aiming directly at the improvement of living standards of Myanmar people. This assistance is expected to further strengthen the friendly relations between Japan and Myanmar.