BUSINESSES in Yangon that create unpleasant or dangerous conditions for the public will be relocated from the city, said a senior Yangon Division Peace and Development Council official.

He said the decision to relocate businesses that produce noxious fumes or excessive noise was made by a joint Yangon Division Peace and Development Council, Yangon City Development Committee and Department of Human Settlement and Housing Development committee.

“We allow businesses and companies to operate by themselves but if their work negatively impacts on the public we will remove them,” he said, adding that this would provide job opportunities in the areas where they are relocated.

He said a number of businesses have already been identified and told to move, with smelting operations first on the list.

“We will be removing businesses that use smelters at the end of March because the risk that they will cause a fire during dry season is too high to have them within the city,” he said.

He added that there are about 50 smelters in Yangon and none of these businesses will have their operating licences renewed unless they move to the Myaung Dagar Steel Industrial Zone in Yangon Division.

To relocate these operations, the Department of Human Settlement and Housing Development has 56 plots measuring 7200 square feet, and 85 at 4800 square feet, already prepared at the Myaung Dagar Steel Industrial Zone.