Myanmar’s military government told foreign diplomats on Friday that their countries can start building embassies in the country’s new capital by the end of 2007, but it is up to them whether they move or not.

Protocol chief Thura U Aung Htet said the government is preparing land for embassies and U.N. organizations in the new administrative capital of Pyinmana, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) to the north of Yangon, the past capital.

“They said it will take two years to finish the infrastructure like roads, water, etc. We were told that we can start to build the new embassies and residences from the end of 2007,” an Asian diplomat who attended the briefing told reporters. He spoke on condition that his name not be used.

On Nov. 6, Myanmar’s secretive military regime began moving its government ministries to Pyinmana, a trading town on the highway between Yangon and Myanmar’s second biggest city, Mandalay. It is located among mountain ranges and dense forests.

Foreign diplomats, who already find it difficult to communicate with the junta, are questioning whether a move to the remote location will hamper their work further.

Some analysts say the move is being driven by irrational fears of a U.S. invasion, while many in Myanmar believe it is due to worries about possible internal unrest.

Officials have said the relocation is the result of a need for a “command and control center” in the center of Myanmar.