Dala Township

Dala or Dalla Township (Burmese: ဒလမြို့နယ်, pronounced [dəla̰ mjo̰nɛ̀]) is located on the southern bank of Yangon river across from downtown Yangon, Myanmar. The township, made up of 23 wards and 23 village tracks (including 50 villages), is bounded by the Yangon River in the north and east, the Twante Canal in the west, and Twante Township in the south. The township's northern portion, the former town of Dala comprising an area of 5.59 square miles (14.5 km²) is within the jurisdiction of Yangon city's government the Yangon City Development Committee.^[1]

Dala Township ဒလမြို့နယ်
Township
Commuters in Dala heading downtown View of Yangon from space, Dala Township on left side Boats on the Dala River
Dala Township in Twante District
Coordinates: 16°45′30″N 96°9′30″E
Country	Myanmar
Region	Yangon Region
City	Yangon
District	Twante District
Area
• Total	86.51 sq mi (224.1 km2)
Population  (2023)[1]
• Total	182,714
• Density	2,100/sq mi (820/km2)
Time zone	UTC6:30 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC16°45'25"N 96°9'37
Postal codes	11261
Area codes	1 (mobile: 80, 99)
YCDC[2]

History

In 1805, Alaungpaya's fourth son King Bodawpaya appointed Htaw Lay as the governor (myoza) of Dala (modern-day Dala and Twante).

During the colonial era, Dala was the site of the major shipyard of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company.^[3]

Contemporary

Despite its strategic location near Yangon, the township is still largely rural and undeveloped mainly because it still lacks a bridge across the Yangon River, with connections between the township and the city being by ferry only. A bridge project was announced for 2017, with an MOU signed with a Korean company, however, no building work had begun by June 2019. Dala has 30 primary schools and two high schools.^[2]

Due to its unique geography and relative location with Yangon, Dala is one of the few townships in the country who has a higher urban population than a rural population without being fully part of a city. In 2023, Dala Township as a whole had 182,713 people in the township. The northern portion, which is included in Yangon city, has 70.0% of the population with 127,918 people in 2023.^[1]

In Dala