Electrical industry of burma/myanmar

Compiler’s note: The complete text of the English language version of the EIA report, titled 'Environmental Impact Assessment (Special Investigation) on Hydropower Development of Ayeyawady Basin above Myitkyina, Kachin State, Myanmar', is available on the website of the Burma Rivers Network at http://www.burmariversnetwork.org/images/stories/publications/english/EIA_Report.pdf It was prepared by the Biodiversity And Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) of Myanmar for submssion to the project sponsors in March 2010 but was first made public in July 2011. Although it is 945 pages (34.55 MB) it downloads rather quickly. The Online Burma Library (OBL) has made sections of the report available in a form which can be copied for quotation purposes.

Part I http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/EIAPartI-ocr.pdf

Part II http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/EIA2-ocr.pdf

Part III http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/EIA3-ocr.pdf

Separately, OBL has also made available the three appendices to the the report.

Appendix on Floral Ecology (2.3MB)

http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/EIA-FloralEcology.pdf

Appendix on Preliminary Investigation (reduced but not converted – 1.1MB)

http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/EIA-Preliminary_Investigation.pdf

Appendix on Wildlife Trade (2.2MB)

http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/EIA-Wildlife_Trade.pdf
Additional references
For information on CPIC’s Myitsone hydropower project see the following key articles in the compendium: ‘Agreement signed for Upper Kachin hydel projects’ (Myitson)’ (NLM: 02/01/07), ‘Prime minister updated on the Myitson hydropower project’ (NLM: 25/01/11), ‘China’s Investment in Kachin dams seen as cause of conflict’ (IRROL; 16/06/11), ‘President Thein Sein orders suspension of Myitsone dam project’ (IRROL: 30/09/11), ‘CPIC president responds to suspension of Myitsone agreement’ (Xinhua: 03/10/11) and ‘KDNG claims work continuing on CPI projects in Kachin State (IRROL: 05/03/12). For information on the Chipwenge hydropower project which was built to provide the electricity needed for the construction phases of the Myitsone and the Upper Cascades hydropower projects see: ‘Chipwi creek plant to power huge hydel project in Kachin state (Myanmar Times:24/03/08). For further information on the six Upper Cascades hydropower projects in Kachin State see: Appendix 32 (ELEP044). For CPIC’s report on the environmental impact of its hydropower projects in northern Kachin State see: ‘China Power Investment EIA report on Upper Ayeyawady projects’ (CSPDR: G2011). For information on transmission of the power generated by these projects see Chinese engineers planning grid connection (IRROL: 23/01/10).
See also: Public workshop held on environmental impact of Ayeyawady basin dams (NLM: 18/09/11).
Ei Ei Toe Lwin, Myanmar Times, 26/09/11. Edited and condensed.

http://mmtimes.com/2011/news/594/news59403.html

Environmental activists say they will do everything they can to stop the damming of the Ayeyarwady project in Kachin State from going ahead, citing both environmental and cultural reasons for why it should be modified or abandoned.

“I’m very pleased that many people are also interested in the Myitsone project,” said U Ohn, vice president of the Forest Resource and Environmental Development Association (FREDA). “The Ayeyarwady is a hot issue and the river already faces so many problems. According to a United Nations Development Programme report, the river carried 299 tonnes of sediment during 1980 but that has increased to 400 tonnes now, which narrows the river a little more every year. “And there are pollutants such as arsenic and mercury flowing downstream from gold mines, as well as extensive deforestation in watershed areas, which are further damaging the river. How can we solve these problems?” he asked. “Now the government wants to add to these existing problems by damming the river. Other countries carefully plan before implementing major dam projects … I say that if the dam must go ahead then they should take more time to evaluate,” he added.
U Cho Cho, the managing director of National Engineering and Planning Services and a former deputy director of the Irrigation Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, said it was important to consider the impact of the proposed dam on the length of the river. He added that the way hydroelectric dams operate changes the water’s physical, chemical and biological properties as it flows downstream. Dams also prevent floods that wash sediment downstream, acting as natural fertiliser. “We have to think carefully about the Ayeyarwady. It might take 10 years to build the project but if there are negative side effects and we decide to demolish the dam it might take 100 years before the system returns to normal,” U Cho Cho said.
“It is a huge risk,” agreed Dr Tun Lwin, a former director general of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, when asked about the Myitsone dam. He said the effect of the dam could be heaviest in central Myanmar – Sagaing, Mandalay and Magwe regions – where the evaporation rate of the river is greater than the rainfall that feeds it. “The people in these regions depend totally on the river to water their crops. If the river’s water level decreases because of the dam, it might irreparably change the social, cultural and economic makeup of these regions,” Dr Tun Lwin said. “According to the Initial National Communication [INC] report compiled by the National Commission for Environmental Affairs these central regions of Myanmar are likely to get the least rainfall between 2020 and 2100 [when the dam will likely be operating],” said Dr Tun Lwin. “This dam is very dangerous when you consider its environmental, climatic and geological impact and it concerns the whole country. I would like to see other technicians and educated people speak openly on the issue,” he added.
Novelists, writers, journ-alists, poets, cartoonists, artists and photographers are cooperating with environmentalists from non-governmental organisations to launch special discussions, publish books and postcards, hold photo exhibitions, and release poems to raise awareness about the issue. On September 21, Daw Daewi Thant Zin, an environmental activist and chief editor of the monthly Aung Pin Lae magazine, published a book titled Ayeyarwady Ko Tot Ma Lwan Chin Par (Don’t Want to Miss the Ayeyarwady), which deals exclusively with environmental issues related to the river. “I’m very excited because I understand the public’s desire and their love for the Ayeyarwady, which is wholly owned by Myanmar and we don’t want to lose our heritage. I think other people feel the way I do so I published this book to cooperate with everybody else who loves the Ayeyarwady,” she said.
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MEASURES FOR EFFICIENT USE OF ELECTRICITY AND GAS COORDINATED

NLM, 13/07/11. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/NLM2011-07-13.pdf

A work coordination meeting on use of natural gas by State-owned factories and plants took place at the Ministry of Industry-2 in Nay Pyi Taw on 12/07/11.
Minister for Industry- 2 Soe Thein, chairman of the Myanmar Industrial Development Committee, said that growing attention is being paid around the world to energy efficiency, energy saving, energy conservation, and the recycling of waste materials into energy. By 2020, the current rate of energy consumption must be reduced to some extent, he noted, calling for energy management for efficient use of energy.
EPM-1 Zaw Min said that the nation has the potential for increasing production of electric power from 1200-1600 million to 8400 million kilowatts a day; and that it would be more convenient for enterprises if they run at night as electricity consumption is lower at night than in the daytime.
Energy Minister Than Htay said that in the 2009-10 fiscal year, the nation’s gas demand was 571.71 million cubic feet, but it could be fulfilled by 231.44 million cubic feet; and that the nation will produce only 420 million cubic feet of gas.
Deputy EPM-2 Aung Than Oo dealt with electric power consumption and supply in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon, Mandalay and remaining regions and states, and programmes for expeditious use of electric power.
The attendees reported on demand of electric power and gas in departments, state-run factories and workshops.
The committee chairman said that strategically, new power plants would be built in the northern part of Myanmar where the potential for [inceased] production exists, and that ways should be sought for energy efficiency, energy saving, energy conservation, and the recycling of waste materials into energy.
Compiler’s note: Energy Minister Than Htay seems to be referring to daily demand and production amounts for natural gas in fiscal 2009-10. Production from inland wells has varied between 100 – 150 million cu ft per day over the last ten years. Offshore production at the Yadana and Yetagun fields averages about 1,200 million cu ft per day but most of this is exported to Thailand. What the minister would appear to be saying is that only 231 million cu ft of gas were available to meet total daily demand for 572 million cu ft during fiscal 2009-10 and that only 420 million cu ft per day would be available to meet demand in the current fiscal year. Natural gas requirements would appear to refer vehicle, electricity, heating and other industrial needs. Currently, the Yadana field would appear to be supplying 150 million cu ft per day through the recently completed 24-inch pipeline that passes through the Daw Nyein pipeline centre and up to 100 million cu ft per day through the older 20-inch pipeline that passes through Myaingalay.
Additional references
For references to a previous campaign to conserve electricity, see ELGR011.
Kyaw Kyaw Hlaing NLM, 05/06/10. Rewritten and condensed.

http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs09/NLM2010-06-05.pdf

MOGE has been supplying natural gas from the Yadana offshore natural gas region through a 20-inch diamenter pipe that was connected from Kanbauk to Myainggale in 2000 and extended from Myainggale to Yangon in 2006. Gas supplied through a new 24-inch pipeline will be distributed to the four power stations at Hlawga, Ywama, Thaketa, and Ahlone to fire electric turbines there, as well as to state and privately-owned factories that use natural gas. It will also be supplied to the Pinpek steel plant in Taunggyi, cement plants in the Pyinyaung region of Thazi township, the Taungphila, Yeni and Mindon cement plants in Nay Pyi Taw, as well as to other factories. The offshore Yadana gas platform will pipe 150 million cubic feet of natural gas per day at 1400 pressure psi to the pipeline center in Daw Nyein village in Pyapon district from where it will be piped to Yangon at 800 pressure psi. The new 24-inch diameter pipeline is of international standard with a 30-year life span.

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NEW GENERATOR INSTALLED AT THANLYIN OIL REFINERY

Juliet Shwe Gaung, Myanmar Times, 11/07/11 (Issue 583). Edited.

http://mmtimes.com/2011/business/583/biz58306.html
Repair work at the Myanma Petrochemical Enterprise’s Thanlyin oil refinery in Yangon Region should be completed in August, a refinery spokesperson said last week. Work started in June 2008 and is being undertaken by Yaung Ni Oo Co Ltd, with the required machinery and equipment imported from India by Angelique International Ltd, the spokesperson said. The repairs have been financed by a US$20-million loan from India.
At present, the refinery is operating only one of its two distillation units and producing about 300,000 gallons of gasoline (petrol) a day, about half of its original capacity, the spokesperson said. “The aim of the renovation work is to restore production capacity to about 570,000 gallons a day,” the spokesperson said. “The renovation took more than a year longer than expected,” he added. About 80pc of the refined oil produced by the refinery is gasoline, with liquefied petroleum gas and aviation fuel also produced.
The main repair works have been the building of a new 4.5-megawatt power plant, which cost $7 million, a new heater unit, a heat exchanger, cooling units and about 20 pumps that will supply both crude distillation units ($8.7 million total). Other repairs include a new water treatment plant that cost about $520,000, and a laboratory with testing equipment for about $600,000. About $2 million has also been spent upgrading the refinery’s jetty.
The Thanlyin plant is one of three oil refineries operated by the Myanma Petrochemical Enterprise, under the Ministry of Energy. “About $1.2 million was spent to buy equipment for the No 2 refinery in Chauk, and an oil refinery in Mann [oil field] and a liquefied petroleum gas plant in Minbu, all of which are in Magway Region,” the spokesperson said.
[A photo of the Thanlyin refinery accompanies the article in the on-line version of the Myanmar Times.]
Additional references

For information on generating plants operated by state-owned companies under the Ministry of Energy and other government ministries, see ELOV008C

For information on the three existing oil refineries and other petrochemical plants operated by the state-owned Myanma Petrochemical Enterprise, see

http://www.energy.gov.mm/downstreampertoleumsubsector2.htm

NLM, 19/08/09. Excerpt. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/NLM2009-08-19.pdf

Energy Minister Lun Thi inspected the installation of a 4.5-MW steam turbine generating unit at the oil refinery in Thanlyin on 17/08/09 and presented a fruit basket to the team of foreign technicians involved in the project.
IANS, 26/07/04. Edited and abridged. http://www.myatmyanmar.net/EN/men20040726.pdf

India will help Myanmar extend a crude oil refinery in Thanlyin under a bilateral aid programme, Xinhua reports. On completion of the $30 million project, the Thanlyin refinery south of Yangon will be able to produce up to 20,000 barrels of crude a day, thus saving the transportation of crude from oilfields to the refinery, the Myanmar News Gazette said Monday. Crude is currently carried to the Thanlyin refinery from the Yetagun oilfield off the Tanintharyi coast to produce diesel, petrol, kerosene, aviation oil, coal tar and wax. According to official statistics, Myanmar produced about six million barrels (787,000 tonnes) of crude annually in the past few years. The country consumed 97.84 million gallons (410,928 tonnes) of petrol and 335.7 million gallons (1.4 million tonnes) of diesel last year, two or three times that of10 years ago when it was 195,630 tonnes and 470,650 tonnes respectively. Myanmar will import $250 million worth of fuel in the fiscal year 2004-05, 25 percent more than the value bought in the previous year.

WPD, 19/02/90. http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/BPS90-02.pdf p 16.

On a visit to the No. 1 Oil Refinery (Tanlyin), SLORC Sec’y-1 Khin Nyunt noted that "as raw materials are inadequate at present, the Tanlyin Oil Refinery can produce only 120,000 gallons a day but soon when the machines are run in full swing it will be able to produce 900,000 gallons a day."

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CHINA’S INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT SEEN AS CAUSE OF KACHIN CONFLICT

Ba Kaung, IRROL, 16/06/11. Adapted and abridged. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21506

The current armed conflict in Burma's northern Kachin State has effectively ended nearly two decades of ceasefire between the country's second largest ethnic army, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and the newly sworn-in Naypyidaw government, bringing a strategic region near the Chinese border to the verge of a civil war. The conflict is extraordinarily significant because for the first time it has reignited a civil war in northern Burma which has been in hibernation mode since a fragile “gentlemen's” agreement was reached in 1994.
The clashes that broke out on June 9th present a new challenge in the armed struggle of Kachin rebels who initially demanded independence in 1961 but later called for a federal union. The new and daunting challenge for the KIA today is its neighbor China. Across Kachin State, Chinese state-owned mega-corporations such as China Power Investment and China Datang are constructing a number of large-scale hydropower dams. And the electricity from those dams will be exported to China.
KIA spokesperson La Nan told The Irrawaddy on June 16th that the immediate cause of the latest fighting stemmed from the Burmese army's aggressive attempts to control areas surrounding hydropower dams, which are located near the Chinese border—areas which have long been under the control of KIA forces. La Na said that these massive investments were implemented without the consent of the local public or stakeholders such as the KIA, and these economic interests have already pushed Beijing into becoming an ally of the Burmese army.
“When we approach the Chinese company officials working at these dams, their response is that they already have agreements with Naypyidaw,” he said. “China wants to get resources from Burma. So it seems that their policy is to secure our country's resources by any means necessary and, in this case, with the connivance of the Burmese authorities.”
According to Burma Rivers Network, an independent environmental group, these dams have severe social, economic and environmental impacts. In addition, the majority of the power is to be exported to neighboring countries, necessitating the expansion of Burmese army control in the areas where these dams are being built. The NGO said in a statement on June 8th that the latest fighting near the Dapein and Shweli hydropower dams in northern Burma shows how the build-up of Burmese government troops in the region fuels the conflict and adds to the deep resentment against the widely unpopular dam projects.
Given China's huge investment in the region, it is interesting to question whether the Burmese armed forces tried to dispel the KIA battalions from the areas near these projects only after it received explicit approval from Beijing. The ongoing armed clashes in Kachin State come just a few weeks after Burmese President Thein Sein visited Beijing and the two countries announced the establishment of a strategic relationship. During the visit, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabo appealed to Thein Sein “for the smooth implementation of infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines, hydroelectric power and transportation,” according to state news agency Xinhua.
Asked if China had possibly given a green light to the Burmese army to clear the KIA-controlled areas, Jim Della-Giacoma, the Southeast Asian Director of International Crisis Group (ICG), said, “We don't think Beijing would have been caught off-guard by this [the latest clashes] as they were by the Kokang fighting of August 2009, but their larger interests remain.” The ICG report last year said that the Kokang conflict and the rise in tensions along the border prompted Beijing to increasingly view Burma's ethnic groups as a liability rather than a means of strategic leverage. It also said that the ethnic groups' view China’s support for them as provisional and driven by its own economic and security interests. Della-Giacoma described the current break in hostilities in Kachin State as “the lull before the storm.” “We are not yet at a point of full resumption of conflict in Kachin, but if the Myanmar government doesn't move quickly to create space for a de-escalation, that's where this is headed,” he said.
Regarding the Chinese hydropower projects in Kachin State being included in any peace talks with the Burmese side, La Na said that although the KIA clearly rejects the Myitsone dam project, which is not near KIA military bases, it is not in opposition to other dam projects in Kachin State. “We wanted to have a say in these projects and make sure that the revenue from these dams benefits Kachin people too,” he said, adding that the apparent immediate objective of the Burmese army attack is to completely control full and direct access to China.
He said he does not rule out a large-scale major offensive by the Burmese army in the coming days. “It depends only on the Burmese government,” La Nan said. “We have prepared a broad defensive military position, just in case. “But we know that real victims of war will be the people of the region,” he added. “That's why we are not conducting military attacks in any other area except to destroy bridges to deter the Burmese army tanks coming in.”
[Compiler’s note: Ba Kaung is a journalist on the editorial staff of The Irrawaddy, a publication reflecting the views of Burmese exile interests. For reports related to the events of the conflict referred to in the opinion pieces covered by this key article, see ELEP034.]
Additional references
For more information on CPIC’s Myitsone hydropower project see the following key articles in the compendium: ‘Agreement signed for Upper Kachin hydel projects’ (Myitson)’ (NLM: 02/01/07), ‘Prime minister updated on the Myitson hydropower project’ (NLM: 25/01/11), ‘President Thein Sein orders suspension of Myitsone dam project’ (IRROL: 30/09/11), ‘CPI president responds to suspension of Myitsone agreement’ (Xinhua: 03/10/11) and ‘KDNG claims work continuing on CPI projects in Kachin State (IRROL: 05/03/12). For information on the Chipwenge hydropower project which was built to provide the electricity needed for the construction phases of the Myitsone and the Upper Cascades hydropower projects see: ‘Chipwi creek plant to power huge hydel project in Kachin state (Myanmar Times:24/03/08). For further information on the six Upper Cascades hydropower projects in Kachin State see: Appendix 32 (ELEP044). For reports on the environmental impact of all of CPIC’s hydropower projects in northern Kachin State see: ‘BANCA’S critical report on China-backed dam smothered’ (DVB: 18/07/11) and ‘China Power Investment EIA report on Upper Ayeyawady projects’ (CSPDR: G2011). For information on transmission of the power generated by these projects see Chinese engineers planning grid connection (IRROL: 23/01/10).
For information on hydropower projects of other PRC companies in Kachin State, see the following ‘Tapein-1 hydropower plant in Kachin state officially opened ‘ (NLM: 24/01/11), ‘Datang begins operations at Tapein river hydropower plant’ (Interfax: 03/09/10), and ‘Agreement on four hydro projects signed with Datang (Yunnan)’ (PRC Comm: 15/01/10)
IRROL, 26/09/11. Edited and condensed. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22140

The civil war in northern Burma has intensified over the last four days as heavy fighting between government troops and the KIA raged across northern Shan State. The Burmese military reportedly used 17 battalions and an artillery regiment—totaling 1,000 troops in all—to attack KIA strongholds in areas near the towns of Kutkai, Muse, Hsenwi, Kunlon and Namtu in regions near the Chinese border. The recent fighting has been the most intense since clashes first broke out near the Chinese-built hydropower plants in Bhamo Township, Kachin State, in June which ended a 17-year ceasefire, according to KIA officials. Efforts by both sides to renew the ceasefire agreement have failed with the government rejecting KIA demands for an all-inclusive political dialogue between ethnic armed groups and Naypyidaw. The instability has much to do with Chinese investments in the region, since the latest fighting comes after a warning by the KIA that the construction of China's controversial 6,000-mega watt hydropower Myitsone Dam Project in Kachin State would spark a civil war. In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on 26/09/11, the Kachin Independence Organization called for the international community to step in and help stop the civil war and achieve national reconcil-iation. “Actions towards the Irrawaddy Myitsone Dam construction will be key for the future of harmony in our lands. Throughout our successive governments, there have been policies that monopolized our nation's natural resources. These policies were formed without consultation of the local people, much like the cultural heritage issues of our regions,” it said. Since last week, the KIA has blocked the transportation of construction materials for the dam project from China's border.

Sai Aung, Mizzima, 13/09/11. Edited and condensed. http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/5924-kio-blocks-construction-material-for-myitsone-dam-project.html

Battalion-2 of the KIA says it has blocked traders who supply construction material for the Myitsone dam project from sending goods to the area. KIO spokesman La Nang said cement and iron construction material supplied from China via the Waimaw-Kantipai road in eastern area of Kachin State is not being allowed to pass through the Lahpai Gate, which is controlled by the KIA’s Battalion-3. “We heard that construction at the Myitsone dam site has been halted because of a lack of material,” La Nang said. However, EPM-1 Zaw Min said in a press conference on 10/09/11 that work at the dam site had been temporarily halted during the monsoon season and construction work would start again when the monsoon ended.

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NLM, 12/08/11. Noted. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/NLM2011-08-13.pdf