Yangon New City

A New Metropolitan District Shaped by Water 

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Yangon, Myanmar · 2013
Role: Design Director — 3TI Progetti Asia

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Yangon New City is conceived as a major new urban extension across the Yangon River from the historic city centre, establishing a new metropolitan district for approximately 500,000 people.

Covering approximately 3,750 hectares, the master plan combines two complementary components. A 1,650-hectare urban area accommodates the new city centre and CBD, while approximately 2,090 hectares are dedicated to a new eco-industrial district together with container and cruise-port infrastructure supporting the wider economy of Yangon and the region.

The project responds to a predominantly agricultural territory already inhabited by approximately 35,000 people. The master plan therefore incorporates a resettlement strategy as part of the transformation of the area, recognizing the existing communities as an integral consideration in the development of the new city.

New highway and tunnel connections across the Yangon River establish a direct relationship with the existing CBD, while the master plan is structured around a broader network of metropolitan connections.

Water forms one of the fundamental elements of the urban concept. Existing rivers, canals and ponds are integrated into a continuous blue-green infrastructure system, combining landscape, ecology, drainage and opportunities for alternative public transportation.

Rather than treating water as a constraint to urbanization, Yangon New City uses the existing waterscape as a framework for growth — connecting urban development, mobility, landscape and environmental systems at the metropolitan scale.