A total of 40 private companies and entrepreneurs have won bid for development of Dawei and the entire southern Tanintharyi region of Myanmar, official media reported Friday. The development projects are funded by the Ministry of Border Affairs, said the New Light of Myanmar. Meanwhile, Myanmar is also inviting international companies to bid for Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the region following the pull-out of the sole developer, Italian-Thai Public Company. The international developers were set to bid the tender starting Dec. 20, 2013 for the initial phase of the project and the tender will open on March 31, 2014 and the project work is set to begin on May 15, 2014. The initial phase will cover nearly 20 square-kilometers or 10 percent of the overall project which is estimated to take five years. Dawei region serves as the southern economic corridor of the Greater Mekong Subregion.