Port Overview

The port of Pyay in the Bago region consists of two locations in the centre of Pyay, one mooring point used for general cargo and one used for passengers located close to each other. There is no stable port access point of Pyay due to the narrow passage of Ayeyarwaddy River depending on water level and no stable mooring points at the riverbank. Only construction materials are still handled at a temporary port near the center of Pyay at the riverbank for commercial purpose. 

The Inland Waterways and Transport department IWD is responsible management of the port of Pyay, but it has stopped monitoring port operations since July 2013. Since then, there has been no registrations of the number of vessels calls and quantity of cargo handled and there has been no passenger boats operating in the area. For transportation, residents mainly use road transportation. Given the narrow passage and longer delivery period, this port is not recommended for cargo movement. However, in case of emergencies, this can be an option if road transport becomes inaccessible. As the road between Yangon and Pyay is generally in particularly good condition (5 to 6 hours driving time), most of the humanitarian organizations opt for transporting their cargo by road. 

The cargo port is in the centre of Pyay and can be accessed by maximum capacity 8 MT 6-wheeler trucks only.

Key port information can also be found at: http://www.maritime-database.com 

Port Picture

  Pyay cargo port

Pyay cargo port access.

Description and Contacts of Key Companies

There are only a limited number of cargo shipping companies operating in Pyay, mostly for construction materials, and they are all based in Yangon. No detailed information available.

For more information on port contacts, please see the following link: 4.4 Port and Waterways Companies Contact List.

Port Performance

Since 2013 no statistics have been kept on the port performance. The main reason is that the Yangon-Pyay road has been improved and most cargo transport has shifted to trucks.

The minimum draft of the channel from Yangon to Pyay is up to 10.6m (35ft) in the wet season and minimum 1.2m (4ft) in the dry season. During dry season there is a restriction on the maximum amount of cargo allowed due to the shallow draft of the river. There is enough mooring space, there are no bottle necks. No handling equipment is available, loading and unloading takes place with manual labour.

Distance Pyay-Magway: 180 km (11hrs downstream, 19hrs upstream).

Pyay-Yangon: 421 km (26.5 hrs downstream, 44 hrs upstream) via Twante canal.

To go from Yangon to Pyay there are two options:

Option 1: Via Twante canal (124 km length) at Twantay City. Twante Canal is preferred by Inland Water Transport.

Option 2: Via the Hlaing river (98km length) at Nyaungdon city is 26km (1.5 hr/3 hrs) shorter. The Hlaing river is preferred by the private sector, but is more difficult to navigate due to narrow sections with many bends.

Discharge Rates and Terminal Handling Charges

Ships are charged a standard fee for use of the waterway by the Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River System (DWRIRS), under the Ministry of Transport & Communications. DWRIRS charges 0.20 Kyat/MT capacity/mile, per trip (rate as of Jun 2016). This is charged at the river stations Twante, Nyaungdong, Pyay, Magway, Mandalay and Kathar. 

Berthing Specifications 

General Cargo Handling Berths

Port Handling Equipment

There is no port handling equipment, manual labor only.

Container Facilities

There are no container facilities in Pyay Port.

Customs Guidance

No customs office is available.

Terminal Information

Multipurpose Terminal

None.

Grain and Bulk Handling

None.

Main Storage Terminal

None. Normally direct transhipment to and from trucks.

Stevedoring

All loading and offloading is manual. Daily workers are arranged through the Labour Exchange Office and rates can be changes time to time. Current rates are as follow:

• The daily labour rate is 2,000 MMK/MT for unskilled labour.
• Daily casual rate is 5000-8,000 MMK/day for unskilled labour and 8,000-12,000 MMK/day for skilled labour.

Reference: Minimum Wage (“National Committee”) issued the Notification No.1/2018

Hinterland Information

Cargo can be moved by truck only. Because the port is inside town, only small trucks can be used to load cargo: 6-wheeler, 8 MT capacity maximum.

Port Security

None. The port is not fenced.