Electrical industry of burma/myanmar

Compiler’s note: The Burmese language version of this appeal precedes the English version on this website.

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Eleven Media editorial, undated. Published in the week following the appear of the article by Kyaw Min Lu in Myanma Alin and the New Light of Myanmar.

http://eversion.news-eleven.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1396:pragmatic-comments-by-emg-and-ludu-u-sein-win-on-hydropower-project&catid=43:biweekly-eleven-eversion&Itemid=110
Compiler’s note: The commentary below represents comments made by the chairman of one of the leading private news groups in Yangon. Compendium users are advised that it is a summary and a paraphrase. The translation of Dr Than Htut Aung’s remarks were originally prepared by Eleven Media. Consult the original for the full version. This commentary is an indication of the increasing openness by the Myanmar media to public discussion of national issues.
Than Htut Aung, chairman and CEO of the Eleven Media Group, commenting on the article about the Myintsone dam project by journalist Kyaw Min Lu in state-run newspapers
“The first ever rejoinder or response from the side of the state-run newspapers towards the media is most welcome. However, as the Fourth Estate we, too, have the right to our opinions. A couple of months back, the Eleven Media Group held discussions with a ‘think tank’ group that was scheduled to meet with Chinese officials and submit their observations and opinions on the Myintsone confluence project, the natural gas project, and the Kyaukphyu deep sea port project. This ‘think tank’ is composed of of persons about 30-40 years of age including PhD holders from universities in Singapore. They have some serious reservations about the benefits that the Myintsone project would bring to the Myanmar people and promised to submit their findings to the Chinese government in a professional spirit. They are of the view that only two small dams instead of seven large ones should be constructed.
“The article in the state-run newspapers did not clearly indicate the disadvantages of the Myintsone project. It is incorrect to assume that there will be no negative effects in the lower part of the Ayeyawady, based on the monthly figures of the water flow. The river is already silting up gradually as dams are being constructed on its tributaries, The waterways are changing. In some parts of the delta and people are facing drinking water problems in the summer. There is no guarantee whatsoever on the necessary backup with regards to the deterioration along the river. The writer of the article referred to a 569-page report prepared by a Chinese survey team. However, it said nothing about the professional qualification of those who carried out the survey and omitted any mention of whether the project will favor Myanmar or China. Moreover, the detailed observations on the 12 sectors were not mentioned. The writer of the article mentioned only six advantages. Omitting the disadvantages was veryunprofessional. Furrthermore, the possible areas of inundation of the flood-plain were not mentioned.”
With regard to the 900-page Environmental Imact Assessment (EIA) report: “According to the report, almost 500 square miles will be inundated by a single dam which represents two to three percent of the total area of Kachin State. Kachin State hosts one of the richest mineral resources in the country, besides forests and tourist sites, which could be lost as a result of this project. Moreover, job opportunities existing along the river course including biodiversities will be lost. These facts should be taken into consideration before a dam is built. According to the EIA report, Chinese investment in the project will amount to US$ 3.6 billion. This seems rather small in comparison with international norms. Current public discussions suggest that the profits will not be fairly shared between Myanmar and China. In fact, people want to know how how they are going to be shared between the two countries.”
“The Ayeyawady is the national heritage of all the people of our country. We have a full responsibility to protect the national interest and to consider very carefully the future consequences of such a project before embarking upon it.”

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Kyaw Min Lu, NLM, 10/08/11. Edited and abridged.

http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/NLM2011-08-10.pdf

Certain persons have been writing stories that the Ayeyawady River will dry up if the Myitsone hydropower project goes ahead. That is nonsense. The region where the river originates gets an average annual rainfall of 91 inches. On average, 128.52 million acre feet of water flow into the river a year. The maximum water storage capacity of the Myitsone dam will be only 9.788 million acre feet, accounting for only 7.6 % of the total inflow water. And 92.4 % of the total inflow water will be released into the river. Moreover, the Maykha and the Malikha are not the only rivers that form the Ayeyawady. Many other rivers and streams including the Tarpein, Shweli, Zawgyi, Panlaung, Myitnge, Chindwin and Dokhtawady flow into the Ayeyawady downstream from the dam. In fact, all the water stored in Myitsone Dam will flow into the river through the outlet channel of the hydropower plant when it is in operation. So, it is out of the question that the Ayeyawady will dry up in consequence of the Myitsone dam.

As to the concerns that the Ayeyawady will dry up in the summer if it is dammed at the confluence: the experts who planned the project note that the average discharge will decrease by 3.5% in the rainy season, but increase by 16% in summer owing to water released from the dam. In summer, ice-capped mountains in Kachin State melt into the Ayeyawady River. So, the discharge of the Ayeyawady will not be seriously affected at all. The average annual discharge of the Ayeyawady River in summer is presently 1830 m³s, but it will increase to 2120 m³/s when the dam is completed. o, the water level downstream the Ayeyawady River will be about 1.5 feet higher than normal. Therefore, concerns over the Ayeyawady River are unnecessary and they can rest assured. I would say that the Ayeyawady River will never be dry up, and there will be no adverse effects on the industries that rely on the river such as agricultural farming, businesses, social affairs and waterway transport.
Some say that the Myitsone dam will be close to the Sagaing earthquake zone, and that if an earthquake occurs, all of Myitkyina will be flooded. Others have expressed concerns that that the dam embankment would be ruptured if heavy rains would persist for a long time. But they ignore the fact that the Myitsone embankment is to be a Concrete Face Rockfilled Dam (CFRD). A CFRD type dam is more resistant to earthquakes than zone type dams. For instance, when an earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale hit Sichuan province in China some years ago, there was no damage to the CFRD-type Skuibuya dam in the province. Experts have designed the Myitsone dam to be earthquake-proof. In addition, the dam has spillways and outlets and is installed with a monitoring system. So, it will be impossible for the embankment of the dam to be ruptured in extreme cases like the ones cited. In fact, because the Myitsone dam will will be able to store up to 0.85 billion m3 of water, it will assist in flood control. Myitkyina faces floods once in every five years on average, but after the Myitsone project is completed, the region will encounter floods only once in every 20 years.
Others are concerned that all the silt carried along the Maykha and Malikha rivers will be blocked by Myitsone dam. They say that this could cause a scarcity of alluvium in the delta and deal a blow to local farmers. They are like redwattled lapwings that put themselves upside down while they sleep in fear that the sky may fall. In fact, the dam is not that dangerous. Hundreds of other rivers and creeks besides the Maykha and the Malikha flow into the Ayeyawady and will continue to carry silt into the river. Moreover, the Myitsone dam will have silt excluders that will allow the silt to get out of the dam when it piles up on the bed of the reservoir. So, the silt in the dam will get into the Ayeyawady later.
An Internet article says that over 20,000 people from 47 villages have been displaced due to the Myitsone dam project. In reality, only 2146 people from 410 households in five villages are in the project area: Tanphe, Kyeinkharan, Myitsone, Khappar/Aunggyayan and Daungpan are the only ones who have been relocated. These five villages have been reconstituted as the Aungmyintha model Village and the Maliyan model Village with better houses and buildings to meet all the characteristics of a model village.
Others claim that the mangrove forests in the Ayeyawady delta area will be made extinct as a result of the Myitsone dam project. In fact, since the water level in the Ayeyawady will remain almost normal, there will be no effect on the mangrove swamps. Since Cyclone “Nargis”, the government has been stepping up conservation of mangrove forests in cooperation with local and international NGOs and the mangrove forests will thriving better than ever.
Every project has its pros and cons and in implementing this one, the host country will have to make some sacrifices in order to enjoy its benefits. But the foreign investment that will come to Myanmar as a result of the project and the royalties the country will receive will more than compensate for losses. The accusations that the project is designed just for China and not for Myanmar are groundless. Our state leaders would never give the green light to a project that is not beneficial to the nation and the people.
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Ba Kaung, IRROL, 09/08/11. Edited and abridged. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21864

The construction of the Myitsone dam in Kachin State will have no negative impact on the flow of the Burma's largest river, the Irrawaddy, nor on the lives and livelihoods of the local population, Myanma Alin, a state-run newspaper, claimed in an opinion piece on 09/08/11. The comment came amid mounting criticism by environmental rights groups that the dam project, located at the source of the Irrawaddy, will cause serious social and environmental problems for local people living both upstream and also far downstream, even as far away as the coastal areas of Burma. The 6,000-megawatt Irrawaddy Myitsone dam will only utilize 7.6 percent of the flow waters of the Irrawaddy; hence the dam project will have “no adverse effects whatever on the agriculture, businesses and social work,” the commentary claimed, adding that the project will create job opportunities for locals. Environmental groups say the project will not only disrupt transportation of nutrients to the Irrawaddy delta, the provider of nearly 60 percent of Burma’s rice, but will also submerge historical churches, temples and cultural heritage sites that are central to Kachin identity and history. But the newspaper countered that the river's water flow would not be significantly affected, and that the water storage by the dam will only cause the water level to increase “1.5 feet higher than normal downstream the river in the dry season.” The dam site is located within the Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin rainforest region, which is recognized as one of the world’s top biodiversity hotspots and a global conservation priority. If completed, the project is expected to inundate approximately 766 square kilometers of this pristine rainforest. According to Burma Rivers Network, CPI has ignored its own environmental assessment, conducted in 2009 by Burmese and Chinese scientists who warned that the majority of local people oppose construction of the dams and have called for the consultation and consent of affected peoples. The findings of the environmental assessment were never made public. Compiler’s note: A translation of the article originally published in Burmese in Myanma Alin was carried in the NLM on 11/08/11. An abridged version is included in the Compendium immediately above.

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Aung Din, IRROL, 04/08/11. Edited and abridged. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21835

Aung Din is the Executive Director of the Washington, DC-based US Campaign for Burma.
In May 2007, the Burmese military regime and China’s state-owned “Chinese Power Investment Corporation” (CPI) signed an agreement to build seven large dams in Kachin State within ten years, with the expected date of completion in 2017. One dam will be built on the Mali River, five dams on the N’Mai River and one at the confluence of the Mali and N’Mai, called “Myitsone” (junction of two rivers in Burmese). After completion of the seven dams, about 13,360 Megawatts (MW) of electricity will be produced annually and transported to Yunnan Province to feed China’s expanding energy need. The Myitsone dam at the confluence of the Mali and N’Mai is the largest among the seven dams, and is expected to produce up to 6,000 MW of electricity annually. It will become the fifteenth largest hydroelectric power station in the world.
The Chinese government has been a staunch supporter of the Burmese regime since 1989. China supplies weapons to strengthen the Burmese military, provides loans and financial assistance to the regime to run its governing machine, protects the regime in the United Nations and other international forums, and tries to kill or water down any UN resolution that will take effective action against the regime for its human rights violations. Largely because of China’s strong protection and support, the Burmese military regime has survived to this day, under the disguise of a so-called civilian government, successfully weathering international criticisms and pressure. But the price the whole country has to pay back for Chinese protection of the military regime is enormous. China is the most aggressive among the many investors rushing to exploit Burma's vast natural resources. It is sucking the country’s blood everywhere it can set foot. Centuries-old evergreen forests have been rooted out by Chinese logging companies. Many mountains are being destroyed by Chinese mine companies to search for gold, copper, sapphire and jade. Tens of thousands of Chinese workers have been using heavy machinery and building infrastructures for the Myitsone Dam project. Forests are being cut down. Valleys and plains are being dug up. Nearly 20,000 ethnic people are being forced to relocate. The Myitsone confluence will be destroyed and most of the major cities in Kachin State will be flooded and submerged when the dams are completed. But the harsh repercussions will be felt not just in Kachin state, but also downstream, as 60 percent of the people of Burma rely on the Irrawaddy’s watershed.
After completion of the dam, the water flow from the N’Mai and Mali Rivers will be stopped by the dam and saved in the reservoir to generate electricity. The N’Mai and Mali Rivers will not be the origin of the Irrawaddy anymore, but rather the dam will be. The amount of water to be kept at all the times in the reservoir will drastically decrease the amount of water the Irrawaddy receives, and the flow of water in the river will be much weaker. It will create huge damage for the people living along the river, beginning with ships and vessels unable to sail in the shallow waters; fishermen unable to catch fish which can’t survive in the polluted waters; farmers unable to grow rice and vegetables due to frequent draughts and lack of sufficient and steady water supplies; the spread and epidemic of infectious diseases from using and drinking contaminated water and lack of clean water; permanent losses of vulnerable and endangered species of birds, flowers, plants and fresh water animals; significant changes of ecosystem and climate; destruction of mangroves; in addition to other extensive damages. During the dry season, which lasts four months from February to May, due to the low volume of water coming from the upstream of the river, sea water from the Andaman Sea will flow back to the Delta region with high tidal water volume, and Burma’s major rice production area will be flooded with salt-water. The Irrawaddy River may disappear in ten years, like the Yellow River in China.
This will be a major catastrophe for the people of Burma in terms of food security, health, society, the economy, poverty levels and politics. The Burmese regime will receive about $500 million per year, 20 percent of the total revenue, when the project begins to generate and transport electricity to China. But this will amount to a tiny fraction of the losses the people of Burma will have to bear for generations. The Irrawaddy has many names among the Burmese: “Mother of Burma; Bride of Histories; the Great Magic of the Nature,” all of which symbolize their great love for the river. Its water flow touches everybody’s life. The people of Burma will stand up to protect their most beloved . The Chinese government should stop building the Myitsone Dam and destroying the Irrawaddy before the growing anti-Chinese sentiment among the people of Burma dangerously explodes.
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ELECTRIC RAILWAY TO LINK YUNNAN BORDER WITH INDIAN OCEAN

dpa, 29/08/11. Edited.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Construction-of-China-Burma-railway-could-start-in-30163951.html
Construction on a 20-billion-dollar rail link between the Myanmar's Chinese border and its western coast could begin as early as December, officials said Monday. 'We will start the construction of Muse-Kyauk Phyu railroad in the coming December if detailed discussions on the agreement are completed,' Myanmar Railway Transportation Minister Aung Min said.
The railroad would start at the Shan State's border town of Muse in the north-east and span 800 kilometres across the country to end up at the Rakhine state's port city of Kyauk Phyu on the Bay of Bengal. 'The whole project will take five years and cost about 20 billion US dollars. China will bear the cost and the agreement will be based on BOT (build, operate and transfer) for 50 years,' Aung Min told the German Press Agency dpa.
The electric trains will be capable of travelling at speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour and of carrying 4,000 tons of goods. 'China will use this railroad to transport goods from Kyauk Phyu port to its capital Beijing and other cities via Ruli and Kunming,' Aung Min said. 'Their ships will no longer need to sail through Malaca strait.'
China also has made plans to build a pipeline along the same route as the railway to carry natural gas to Yunnan, southern China. Myanmar's Rail Transportation Ministry and China's Railways Engineering Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding in April to jointly develop the China-Myanmar railway.
The project has raised concern among human rights groups. 'The railroad will pass though parts of the Shan state that are still contested,' said David Mathieson, Myanmar expert for Human Rights Watch. 'But I'm more concerned about the security corridor attached to such projects, which have a past record for human rights abuses such as forced labour and land confiscation.'
Additional references
Ananth Krishnan, The Hindu, 30/04/11. Abridged.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article1978874.ece

China has announced it will build a railway line connecting a Myanmar border town to the planned deep-sea port it is building at Kyaukphyu, which will, along with an ongoing pipeline project, help secure access to both energy resources and a strategically-significant Indian Ocean port in that country. The state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Friday the China Railways Engineering Corporation and the Myanmar Union Ministry of Rail Transportation had signed a memorandum of understanding to complete the 126-km first phase of the railway line by 2014. The line will run from Kyaukphyu to the border town of Muse. Xinhua said the project would be implemented in line with the gas pipeline China was building from Kyaukphyu to Ruili in Yunnan province, which bordered Myanmar. China is also planning to invest in setting up a special industrial zone at Kyaukphyu, which the Chinese government hopes will emerge as an important centre of energy imports, amid an ongoing effort to reduce its dependence on the Malacca Straits as a route for its oil imports.

Hseng Khio Fah, SHAN, 23/12/09. Edited and abridged.

http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2865%3Ajunta-to-start-construction-on-lashio-muse-railroad-project&Itemid=301

Burma's military regime will start construction of a new railroad, to connect Lashio to the border town, Muse, in early 2010, according sources from the Sino-Burma border. The estimated distance is about 170 km. A survey team of over 20 members inspected the route during the second half of November. It was made up of land surveyors from Napyitaw and Lashio. Local sources informed that two unidentified battalions from Lashio were providing security for the officials while they were conducting the survey. The route is to run through Hsenwi township’s Mongpa village tract, west of the motor highway road continue to west of Kutkhai and will head to Wankhong village tract, Muse township, where the station will be located. Construction of the station started about three months ago, according to local sources. “However, the authorities have yet to decide whether to use the proposed new route or the old one,” said a resident in Lashio. “But the authorities mentioned that the old route has many high mountains to pass,” he added.

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THAUKYAYKAT-2 HYDROPOWER PROJECT TO OPERATE UNDER B.O.T SYSTEM

Nyi Nyi Tun, NLM, 28/08/11. Edited and revised. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/NLM2011-08-28.pdf

Recently, we had an opportunity to visit Thaukyaykhat-2 hydropower project, which is located on Thaukyaykhat Creek, 14 miles east of Toungoo. An official of the Shwe Swan-in company that is implementing the project explained that it will supply power to the national grid system through the main power station at Toungoo. Besides the generation of electricity, the dam will help to control flooding in the Sittoung river basin. Three 40-MW generators will be installed at the power station located at the dam and the Shwe Swan-in company expects to recover the costs of constructing and operating the dam and plant by selling the power produced to the government.
Thaukyaykhat Creek on which the project is located has a catchment area of 840 square miles which receives an average nflow of 3,390,000 acre-feet of water annually. The dam will be able to store 360,000 acre feet of water at full brim. The project comprises construction of structures such as the main embank-ment, saddle dykes, spillway, water diversion tunnel, water tunnel, power intake structure, steel penstock pipelines, power station and switch yard.
The main embankment will consist of a concrete faced rock filled dam. It will be 1253 feet long and 308 feet high. This part of the project is presently 38.5pc complete. Two of three saddle dykes have are finished and the third is 40pc complete. Five spillways will be installed with sluice gates. The current flow rate is 238,800 cubic-feet per second. The water diversion tunnel, which was completed in October 2010 is 34.5 feet in diameter and 1742 feet long. The water intake tunnel is under construction and is about half finished. Up till now construction work on the total project is 48.67pc complete. Technicians and workers are working in concert for timely completion of the project
Three 40-megawatt Francis turbines will be installed in the power house. They are expected to generate an average of 604 million kilowatt hours annually. The project commenced in 2008 and is scheduled for completion in 2012.
The EPM-2 will assume responsibility for transmission and distribution of the power to be generated by the Thaukyaykhat-2 project. A 12.36-mile-long, 230-KV transmission line will be set up between the hydropower station and the main power station at Toungoo on the national power grid. From Toungoo electricity will be supplied through local lines to Nay Pyi Taw and townships in the Toungoo and Bago districts of Bago Region. 74 megawatts are destined for Nay Pyi Taw, 21.9 megawatts for Toungoo District and 29 megawatts for Bago District. A new switch bay is to be installed at the Toungoo power station to handle the additional load.
The Thaukyaykhat-2 hydropower project is being implemented by the Shwe Swan-in Co Ltd under the BOT system and is the first project of its kind to be assigned to the private sector in Myanmar. In the future, other private entrepreneurs will be allowed to generate and supply electricity in the same way. According to the 2008 Constitution, region and state governments will also have the opportunity to generate, supply and sell electricity to their respective regions on a manageable scale. In this regard, Thaukyaykhat-2 is a kind of a pilot project for the private sector as far as the supply of electric power is concerned. The costs of implementing this project will mean an increase in the charges levied on electric meter bills. In order to keep the increases to a minimum measures are being taken to control production costs and to minimize losses of electricity along the supply routes.
[Four photos of various aspects of the project are included in the print edition of NLM. Of particular interest is the first which appears to show the powerhouse area. The other pictures give a frontal view of the main embankment, the spillway and of the exit to the diversion tunnel. ]