RNP chair U Ba Shein pledges renovation of Manaung Airport, solar plant

By Admin 24 Nov 2025

DMG Newsroom

24 November 2025, Manaung

Rakhine Nationalities Party (RNP) Chairman U Ba Shein has pledged to expand and renovate the defunct airport in Manaung Township, Arakan State, and to provide electricity through a solar plant.

He said Manaung Island has potential for additional solar power generation, adding that efforts would be made to expand the existing solar plant and Manaung Airport.

"If the old solar power plant is properly invested in and renovated with expert technology, Manaung can quickly get solar electricity. The Manaung Airport needs to be built to accommodate at least ATR-72 aircraft," he said.

On November 22, he outlined the RNP's policies, stances, processes and election promises via the junta-controlled Myanmar Radio and Television.

Manaung Island had a solar power plant that powered about 1,000 homes in 2019, but it has not been operational since 2021. The Yangon-Manaung-Sittwe-Kyaukphyu route was previously operated by Myanmar National Airlines using a 10-seat aircraft run by Manaung Public Company Limited, but the flight was suspended due to weather conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic.

If these issues are addressed, tourism will grow in Manaung Township and opportunities for regional development will increase, U Ba Shein said.

He also pledged to address the difficulties facing people displaced by armed conflict and political instability in Arakan State and mainland Myanmar.

Politicians say the upcoming election will only serve to prolong military rule and create a false appearance of public participation, rendering candidates' promises meaningless.

"No one is interested in a government that is killing people across the country. No one is interested in the junta-organized election and is opposing it. But those associated with the military are always organizing for positions - for MPs, for ministers, and so on," U Myat Tun, central executive member and spokesperson of the Arakan League for Democracy, told DMG.

The military regime controls only Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and Manaung among Arakan State's 17 townships, and is planning to hold Phase 1 of the election in these townships.

The junta-appointed Union Election Commission has allowed six political parties - the Arakan Front Party, Rakhine Nationalities Party, Rakhine State National Unity Party, Khami National Development Party, Mro National Party, and Mro National Development Party - to contest elections slated for late this year and early 2026.

The RNP has announced 10 candidates, including U Ba Shein, for State Hluttaw, Pyithu Hluttaw and Amyotha Hluttaw seats in Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and Manaung, as well as the position of Minister of Chin Ethnic Affairs.

U Ba Shein was a top leader of the ANP, winning two terms as Kyaukphyu Pyithu Hluttaw representative: first with the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party in 2010, and then with the Arakan National Party in 2015.