People on a moped drive past a sign indicating the economic zone near Tavoy in
southern Burma, near the site of a planned special economic zone and deep sea port.
November 19, 2011 (Reuters)

A man rides his bicycle past a sign indicating the economic zone near Tavoy in southern
Burma, near the site of a planned special economic zone and deep sea port.
November 19, 2011 (Reuters)

A sign showing the road leading to Thailand is seen near Tavoy in southern Burma,
close the site of a planned special economic zone and deep sea port
November 19, 2011 (Reuters)

People ride on a motorcycle on Maungmagan beach near the town of Tavoy in southern
Burma. November 19, 2011 (Reuters)

Villagers pull in a fishing net at dusk on Maungmagan beach near the town of Tavoy in
southern Burma. November 19, 2011 (Reuters)

Fishing boats are seen against setting sun on Maungmagan beach near the town of
Tavoy in southern Burma. November 19, 2011 (Reuters)

A family sits in the doorway of their thatched hut near rubber trees in Tavoy in southern
Burma, near the site of a planned special economic zone and deep sea port.
November 19, 2011 (Reuters)

A farmer holds what he says is lead dust from a creek near Tavoy. Activists and locals
fear the development of a special economic zone and deep sea port in the area
will damage a pristine environment abundant in natural resources (Reuters)

A woman pulls on a fishing net line on Maungmagan beach near the town of Tavoy in
southern Burma November 19, 2011 (Reuters)

A concrete marker bearing the initials for Italian-Thai Development, the company
behind the massive special economic zone in southern Burma, sits on a hilltop
overlooking the sea near Tavoy (Reuters)

The Thai engineering giant Ital-Thai candidly admitted earlier this year that around 10,000 people would be forced to make way for the massive Tavoy industrial complex and deep-sea port in southern Burma, on which work recently began. Local activists claim however the figure will be closer to 30,000. The project will create Southeast Asia’s largest industrial site replete with petrochemical plants, plastics factories and oil refineries. The damage to the environment surrounding the 200 sq-kilometre site is estimated to be vast.

But the project is strategically vital to Southeast Asian economies vying for greater trade with the west, and thus interested parties have sought to smother the likely impacts on civilians  and wildlife in the region. These images show the early stages of a project key to Burma rise as a prized geostrategic asset for the region.