Final Report Chapter 8 Project Implementation Plan implementation of this project will not cause MPT to suffer any significant financial problems. Currently, however, Myanmar is shifting direction and trying to implement significant changes in the management environment of MPT. One such change that is clearly predicted is that MPT will possibly be placed in competition with private foreign companies starting the latter half of 2013. This change will pose quite a few issues for MPT. One such issue is that MPT’s lack of marketing and service units could have a significant effect on the financial situation of MPT. It is clear that an organization with no properly functioning marketing and service units will face difficulties not only in acquiring new customers but also in preventing the loss of existing customers. As already mentioned in 5.3.5, this change is within the scope of MPT’s own management strategy and organizational policy, and is not subject to this study. Therefore, study team only mention that there may be such an issue. It need not be said, however, that the roles of these units in the management of a telecommunication business are inseparable from both technical/ facility aspects. In view of the fact that MPT does not have its own experts in these fields, the securing of the necessary human resources is a pressing issue. In order to survive in a competitive environment, one alternative strategy is to obtain the cooperation of private foreign partners that have expertise in the management of a telecommunications business. We consider this to be a highly possible alternative. In similar cases, where the government’s investment has exceeded half of the overall project cost (more than 51%), Japan has offered ODA. 8.1.2 Project implementation plan As described in Section of 8.1.1 (1), each of the technical divisions/departments at MPT has a high degree of independence, and projects have been planned and implemented independently. However, the scope of this project must extend across those divisions/departments and therefore, we recommend the establishment of a project management unit (PMU) that can manage different technical divisions/departments horizontally so that this project can be implemented efficiently. The PMU will be responsible for the following in the implementation of this project. (1) Executing Agency (E/A) MPT shall be the Executing Agency (hereinafter referred as ‘E/A’) and responsible for overall supervision and execution of the Project. Following Departments will be mainly responsible:  Information Technology Department;  Mobile Phone Division;  Long Distance Division;  Auto Phone Division (in charge of fixed-line phone); and  Overseas Division (in charge of international telecommunications). Main role and duty of the E/A is to supervise overall activities during the project implementation. In addition, all of the departments will be responsible for management and monitoring of the project activities by their expertise and specialized knowledge from the technical view point. 8-10