New floating hotel opens in Myanmar

Myanmar Ports Authority says the first ever floating hotel will open its doors in Botahtaung harbour near Yangon by the end of this year.

It will not be the first. That honour went to a floating hotel owned and managed by Centara Hotels and Resorts (previously called Central Group) that ran a 120-cabin converted cruised ship, anchored permanently in Yangon’s harbor.

It was towed from the harbor after about five years in the late 1990s and eventually ended up in East Timor and other areas where temporary accommodation was needed. Central Group sold the ship.

Local media in Yangon said Hla Hla Pa Pa Company won the approval to invest in the floating hotel project. It will import a 2,000 tonne engine-less vessel from Finland that will be converted into a hotel.

The vessel was towed to Myanmar Shipyards 18 August for extensive renovations that will give it 104 double rooms with attached bathrooms, two dining rooms and bars.

The Yangon Port Development expanded Botahtaung port on the Yangon River last year.

Two floating hotel are currently under construction in Mandalay, the second-largest city in Myanmar. Once completed, they will be anchored on the Ayeyawaddy River and cater to foreign tourist. There is a shortage of hotels in Mandalay and rates are very high at an average US$250 a night.

A three-deck floating hotel with an engine to allow it to move between sites will be located near Mayangyan Port in Mandalay. A third floating hotel may be sited on the eastern shore of Kandawgyi Lake, Yangon.

Company sources say they intend to have the accommodation open in time for the 27th SEA Games in December about six week from now.

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