YANGON: The municipal area of Myanmar’s capital of Yangon has been expanding in a fast rate, doubling in the past eight years, a local news journal reported Monday.

Expanding to the east, Yangon’s municipal area has increased to 686 square km this year from 344 sq-km in 1996 with the population having grown to 5.8 million this year from 5.56 million in 2000, the Myanmar Times quoted
the Yangon City Development Committee as saying.

The population density in the downtown area stands 57,937 per sq-km now.

Meanwhile, the government has projected to further expand the area of Yangon by more than 77 sq-km in the next six years to cover more than 770 sq-km by 2010.

Efforts are being made by the government to build Yangon into a city that is in conformity with the characteristics of a modern one.

Yangon was founded by Myanmar King Alaungpaya in 1755.