Electrical industry of burma/myanmar

Additional references

Data summary: Tasang

See below: ‘Chinese firm takes 51% interest in Tasang hydropower project’ (MT: 19/11/07)

‘EGAT agreed only to study feasibility of Salween project’ (BKP: 10/06/07)

'Myanmar, Thailand begin work on controversial Tasang dam' (AFP: 05/04/07)
Bangkok Post, 25/03/12. Edited. Excerpt.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/285873/mega-dams-holding-back-tide-of-goodwill-in-myanmar

Maj Lao Hseng, a spokesman for the Shan State Army (SSA), which signed a truce with the Myanmar government earlier this year, said it had passed the withdrawal order to its troops in the area, but instead of following the command, several more battalions were brought in. He said Myanmar troops had been building up their presence near a planned dam site at Ta Sang, on the western side of the Salween River in Mongpan and Mongton townships, where dam locations are being surveyed. The SSA said it had received a report that at least two locations are being surveyed, with Chinese staff involved. One is 15km north of a bridge near Ta Sang, and the other lies 25km away. ''This clearly suggests that the increasing presence of the [Myanmar] troops has something to do with the planned dam construction,'' said Maj Lao Hseng. He said representatives of the dam project met SSA leaders to discuss the project. The SSA suggested they gauge the views of residents near the dam site before the project proceeds. He said as the Myanmar troops had been increasing their presence, it was difficult for the SSA to intervene.

SHAN, 15/12/11. Edited and condensed.

http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4277:chinese-back-at-salween-dam-site&catid=90:environment&Itemid=287

Chinese engineers who in left the site of of the proposed Tasang dam on the Salween river in August 2011 after four of their colleagues were returned by unknown abductees have returned, according to sources on the Thai-Burma border. Mongton township police have been assigned for their security, said a source close to the police. The Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’ that negotiated for the release of the abducted engineers confirmed the report. “There are three of them,” said Maj Lao Hseng, spokesperson for the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the SSA’s political arm. “They went in in November after notifying us.” They will return to China in May 2012 upon conclusion of their survey, according to Lao Hseng. No further details have been disclosed.

SHAN, 12/08/11. Edited and condensed. http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3941:ssa-says-chinese-engineers-released-by-unknown-group&catid=90:environment&Itemid=287

An unidentified armed group active between Kunhing town and and the Takaw Bridge on the Salween has released three Chinese engineers and an interpreter detained since May, according to the Shan State Army –South. All four were working with the Changjiang Water Resources Commission and the Changjiang Survey, Planning Design and Research Co. Ltd. The group had demanded that the Chinese companies suspend their operations at the Tasang hydropower project and evacuate the area immediately, said Maj Lao Hseng, spokesman for the SSA-S. “The company accepted the group’s terms,” he told SHAN. Following the disappearance of the four, the company approached the SSA South for assistance in securing their release.

NLM, 10/07/11. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/NLM2011-07-10.pdf

EPM-2 Khin Maung Soe received V-P Bi Yaxiong of China Three Gorges Corp and Assistant President Edward Shen of Hydrochina Kunming Engineering Corp from the PRC for discussions on mutual cooperation. Also present at the call were D-G Khin Maung Zaw of the Electric Power Dept and MD Myint Aung of the Electricity Supply Enterprise.

Hseng Khio Fah, SHAN, 06/06/11. Revised and condensed.

http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3748:china-asks-shan-army-to-chase-its-four-missing-guys&catid=85:politics&Itemid=266

The Shan State Restoration Council (RCSS), political wing of the SSA-S, has reportedly been asked by Chinese companies working on the Tasang hydropower project to find the whereabouts of four engineers who disappeared last month from the project construction site. “A delegation from the companies arrived on 31 May, asking for our help in looking for their men as soon as possible,” said an SSA-S officer who requested not to be named. The four men, identified as Yang Huoping, Li Shu and Lu Maolin from the Changjiang Water Resources Commission and the Changjiang Survey, Planning Design & Research Co Ltd and Li Jianzhong, their interpreter, disappeared on May 9th. They are believed to have been abducted by one of several local militia groups that operate in the area. “It could be the handiwork of other groups and even of the Burma Army itself," said the officer. "Whoever it is, we will try our best to find out who the real culprit is.” Meanhile, the companies have been asked to tell the Burma Army not to deploy its troops in the area while the SSA-S is looking for the abductees. It is believed that the four could be in danger if the those searching for them encounter each other. The area has been under heavy security provided by four infantry battalions of the Burma army and a local militia group led by Panta of Ta Hsala.

Compiler’s note: Photos of the missing men can be found on SHAN website at http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3742:names-at-last&catid=visual-points&Itemid=305

For a sketch map of the area and an early news item on the story see: http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3711:headache-for-thein-sein-4-chinese-dam-workers-vanish-into-thin-air&catid=85:politics&Itemid=266

Bloomberg, 16/11/10. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-16/myanmar-china-thailand-agree-to-study-for-10-billion-hydropower-project.html

China, Myanmar and Thailand have agreed to study a $10 billion hydropower project that would be Southeast Asia’s largest by generation capacity. The 7-gigawatt project would be built on the Salween River in Myanmar over 15 years, China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said in a statement on its website. Companies from the three countries signed an accord on the project on 10/11/10 according to the statement. China, the world’s largest energy consumer, is planning to add hydropower capacity in its southern provinces such as Yunnan and help build hydro dams in neighboring countries including Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia to meet demand from the region. China Three Gorges Corp., Sinohydro Corp. and China Southern Power Grid Co. will work with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and the International Group of Entrepreneur Co. in Myanmar on the study, according to the statement.

Jonathan Shieber and Wan Xu, Dow Jones, 24/03/10. Edited. http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/utilities/china-consortium-starts-work-myanmar-hydroelectric-project/

Three Chinese companies that set up a consortium to build a 7.1-gigawatt hydropower dam and station across the Salween river in Myanmar in November 2009 are proceeding with development plans, a Chinese government agency said on its web site. The State Asset Supervision and Administration Commission said the dam in Myanmar would be jointly developed by China, Myanmar and Thailand. The consortium includes China Three Gorges Corp., Sinohydro Corp., and China Southern Power Grid. The three companies have started work on the project, the commission said. Upon completion, the hydropower station will be the largest in Southeast Asia by installed capacity.

China Southern Power Grid. 15/07/08. http://www.sp.com.cn/dlyw/gndlyw/200807/t20080715_109473.htm

In order to implement the tasks under the "Framework Agreement on Myanmar's Salween River Basin Hydropower Development Strategic Cooperation", the China Southern Power Grid Co, Sinohydro Corp and China Three Gorges Project Corp held the first joint working meeting on Myanmar's Salween River Basin, and decided to form a tripartite joint working group. The meeting confirmed the membership, working place, working mechanism and the initial plan for the next phase work of the joint working group. This establishes the foundation for implementation of Myanmar's Salween river basin hydropower projects, particularly the Tasang hydropower project. The working group will develop the objectives, responsibilities and obligations, and start assessment of the initial project technology and business risks. They will also arrange joint market field research, and start pre-project work among the Chinese, Thai and Myanmar sides.

Kyaw Thu, Myanmar Times, 24/03/08. http://mmtimes.com/no411/b002.htm

According to an an energy expert close to EPM-1, all hydropower joint ventures with Thailand are still suspended, despite Thailand’s PM Samak Sundaravej recent visit which focused on increasing investment in the energy sector. Executive director Precha Sekhararidhi of the MDX Group had been quoted as saying on March 17 that the company intended to move ahead with its Tasang project in Myanmar after finishing two dams in Laos. However, the energy expert insisted the Tasang project has not moved forward since the end of last year and no formal instructions have been given to HPID to re-start their work. Construction of the project started at the end of March 2007 and was expected to finish in 2022. The Thai company initially had an 85pc share in the project before Myanmar’s government reassigned control of the venture to a Chinese company at the end of 2007. Under the new arrangement, MDX Group holds a 24pc stake, HPID has a 25pc stake, and the Chinese firm, Gezhouba Water and Power Group Co Ltd, holds a 51pc share.

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4000-MEGAWATT POWER PLANT PLANNED FOR DAWEI DEEP-SEA PORT

NLM, 03/11/10. Condensed and rewritten. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs09/NLM2010-11-03.pdf

A framework agreement regarding the construction of Dawei Deep-sea Port, an industrial estate and a road and rail link to Thailand was signed in Nay Pyi Taw on on 02/11/10 by Chairman Premchai Karasuta of Italian-Thai Development Public Co Ltd of Thailand and and Managing Director Thein Htay of the Myanma Port Authority.
Plans for the seaport on the Andaman coast near Dawei call for the establishment of two harbours capable of simultaneously berthing 25 vessels ranging in capacity from 20000 to 50000 tons at 22 wharfs. An area of 250 sq kms will be set aside for the development which will include two heavy industrial zones, two medium heavy industrial zones, a light industrial zone, a residential community, parks and other infra-structure. Among the industries to be established in the area are a shipyard, petrochemical industries, an oil refinery and a steel plant. The seaport will be connected with with Bangkok in Thailand by a motor road, a railroad, an oil pipeline and power transmission lines. A power station that can generate 4000 megawatts will be built for the whole project.
[The article is accompanied by several photos of scale models of the ports and industrial zones, a cross-section of the transportation cooridor, and a map showing the corridor route between Nabule in Yebyu township and Kanchanaburi in Thailand.]
Website reference:

The ‘Dawei Port’ website with links to news, information, slides shows and videos about the project from a wide variety of sources can be found at http://www.daweiport.net/ Entries in English, Burmese and Thai.

Additional references
Project summary: Dawei seaport
See above: ‘Villagers petition against dam construction on Anyaphaya creek’ (IRROL: 15/03/12)

‘Residents protest Kawthaung coal-fired power plant’ (Mizzima: 05/03/12)

‘Government cuts coal-fired power plant from Dawei project’ (MT: 16/01/12)

See below: ‘Thai company pursuing big hydropower project in Taninthayi’ (MT: 21/05/07)

Suttinee Yuvejwattana and Daniel Ten Kate, Bloomberg, 26/12/11. Edited and condensed. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-26/italian-thai-seeks-japanese-loans-for-myanmar-deepsea-port.html

Italian-Thai Development Pcl expects to sign loan agreements in 2012 valued at $12.5 billion to develop a deepsea port, industrial complex and power plants in Myanmar, Chairman Premchai Karnasuta said. Japan Bank for International Cooperation will likely provide most of the funding for the port, road and railway links in Dawei, less than 300 kilometers (186 miles) west of Bangkok, Premchai told reporters. Italian-Thai plans to complete a 132-kilometer road from Dawei to the Thai border within three years, Premchai said. The company expects to gain income from selling 50,000 rai (80 square kilometers) of land, an area equivalent to about a 10th of Singapore, and serving as the main contractor on infrastructure projects, he added. Of the loans Italian-Thai plans to secure next year, $3.5 billion will be for the port and roads, $2 billion for a railway and $7 billion for two power plants, he said. Japan would seek to help finance the project provided it can reach a deal on Myanmar’s “huge” outstanding debt, Kimihiro Ishikane, a deputy director of Asian affairs at Japan’s foreign ministry, told reporters in Bali on Nov. 16. Italian-Thai is still seeking partners and financing for an integrated steel mill, an oil, gas and petrochemical complex, and fertilizer plants, Premchai said. It signed an initial agreement last month with Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Pcl to develop coal-fired power plants in Myanmar with a combined capacity of 4,000 megawatts.

Nuntawun Polkuamdee, Bangkok Post, 12/12/11. Edited and condensed. http://www.burmanet.org/news/2011/12/12/bangkok-post-itd-firms-dawei-project-%E2%80%93-nuntawun-polkuamdee/

Italian-Thai Development expects to allot 40,000 rai of industrial land in Burma’s Dawei project next year, with plans calling for a 300-billion-baht steel mill, says ITD president Premchai Karnasuta.The industrial estate will also comprise a fertiliser factory and petrochemical refineries. The basic infrastructure for industrial use is expected to be completed and ready to operate in 2015. Mr Premchai said the steel mill would sit on 12,000 rai of land, with an investment of as much as 300 billion baht, and ITD would have a Japanese partner. The mill would have a production capacity of 10 million tonnes per year, and also make downstream products for industrial and electronic uses. Separately, ITD is negotiating with the national energy flagship, PTT, in an oil-and-gas venture. The company previously succeeded in selling 3,000 rai of land to Ratchaburi Holding for building power plants, with revenue to be realised in 2012. Dawei will include a deep-sea port that can serve a large bulk weight of 80,000 tonnes and 55 vessels at once. Construction is completed on a 132-kilometre road from Thailand to Dawei. The first phase of the deep-sea port is expected to begin soon and conclude in the next four years, with all infrastructure in the area to be finished within a decade. ITD has been seeking investment partners since the Burmese government granted it a 75-year concession on 160,000 rai in Dawei. It arranged roadshows in China, Japan, South Korea, India and elsewhere. ITD’s investment in the project is projected to be about US$8 billion. According to an industry source, PTT will partner with ITD in a 3,000-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Dawei. The investment value of the plant is seen as high as $4 billion. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand is a potential buyer of power output from the plant.

Pisit Changplayngam, Reuters, 14/11/11. Abridged.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/14/ratchaburi-idUSL3E7ME0TJ20111114

Thailand's Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Pcl said on 14/11/11 that it planned to spend 12 billion baht ($390 million) next year on continuing investments and new ventures, including power plants in Myanmar's Dawei project. The country's largest private power producer signed an agreement with Italian-Thai Development Pcl to build coal-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 4,000 megawatts at Dawei in Myanmar, President Noppol Milinthanggoon told reporters. Noppol said Ratchaburi would have a 30 percent stake in the project, while Italian-Thai will hold the other 70 percent. Noppol said they would build three small power plants with combined capacity of 400 megawatts in the first phase. Construction is expected to begin next year and be completed in 2014, with investment of $2 million per megawatt. The remaining 3,600 MW would be gradually built in two phases with three 600-MW power plants each and it needed investment of $1.5 million per megawatt, Noppol said. Ratchaburi is 45 percent owned by state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, the country's sole power buyer.

IMNA, 28/10/11. Edited and abridged. http://www.bnionline.net/index.php/news/imna/11978

Six battalions under the control of Tenasserim Coastal Region Command have joined three already stationed along the Tavoy-Kanchanaburi highway under construction, according to information provided by the KNU's Brigade-4 which is active in the area. The government battalions are attempting to secure a wider area around the road construction site after fighting between the government troops and the KNU erupted at the end of July. The KNU announced in September that it would not allow construction of the road which will be the main supply line for Ital-Thai's massive Dawei Deep Sea Port project. The KNU's Brigade-4, is also moving troops into the area.

Nalin Viboonchart, The Nation (Bangkok), 19/09/11. Edited and condensed. http://www.burmanet.org/news/2011/09/19/the-nation-thailand-ptt-wants-piece-of-4-bn-burma-power-project-%E2%80%93-nalin-viboonchart/

Thailand's state-owned oil and gas company known as PTT, wants to co-invest with Italian-Thai Development Co in a 3,000-MW coal-fired power plant that will supply power to the Dawei deep-sea port and industrial estate in Burma, according to a PTT source. The investment value of the plant is expected to be as high as US$4 billion (Bt120 billion). PTT envisions the project being divided into three phases. Ital-Thai and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) are negotiating a Power Purchase Agreement for the coal-fired plant, the source said. Other power-plant operators including Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding and Electricity Generating Plc are also interested in investing in the mega-project. If PTT’s plan to invest in the project pans out, it will likely invest in a related coal-mining project, as the plant will need many millions of tonnes of coal per year to generate electricity. The coal-fired power plant would generate electricity for sale to the Dawei’s industrial estate and deep-sea port, as well as to Egat, the source said.

Saw Yan Naing, IRROL, 29/07/11. Condensed. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21799

Some 50 workers of the Italian-Thai Development Co fled from Burma to the Thai side of the border to escape fighting between Burmese government troops and Karen rebels that broke out near their work site on 28/07/11. Ital-Thai, Thailand’s largest construction firm, is contracted to build the Kanchanaburi-Tavoy Highway, linking the western Thai town of Kanchanaburi with the Burmese coastal town of Tavoy [Dawei] as part of the multi-billion-dollar Dawei Development Project. The workers, most of whom are Thai and Karen, left all their equipment and many personal effects behind as they abandoned the site in haste. At least six Burmese government soldiers were killed during the fighting, said Karen villagers who also fled to the Thai-Burmese border for safety. Hostilities broke out close to the worker's accommodations and the road construction site, as Burmese government forces came under surprise attack from Battalion 10 of the KNLA’s Brigade 4. The construction camp is located near a government military base at Ah Leh Satone on the Thai-Burmese border. The KNLA had warned that construction should be stopped after local villagers complained that the Dawei mega-project would have a severe negative impact on the local population and the environment. Displaced villagers said that they have not been compensated for the loss of their land.

Nirmal Ghosh, Straits Times, 27/07/11. Excerpt.

http://www.burmanet.org/news/2011/07/27/the-straits-times-singapore-myanmar-plans-massive-deepwater-port-shipping-and-logistics-link-between-india-and-s-e-asia-could-rival-spore-nirmal-ghosh/

Basic road-building has begun for the 250-sq-km, US$8 billion (S$9.6 billion) Dawei seaport complex, which will eventually include a 10,000MW coal-fired power plant, and an expanded eight-lane highway to Bangkok. The first phase of the project by Bangkok-based Italian-Thai Development (ITD) will be ready in four years. By 2015, a 230km, double-lane highway to the Thai border will be completed, said Dr Somchet Thinaphong, managing director of Dawei Development Company, which is ITD’s vehicle for the project. Basic infrastructure would be in place, he said, including roads, water, power, and berths capable of offloading heavy commodities such as coal and iron ore. The Dawei-Bangkok road link will channel goods between Thailand’s Map Ta Phut industrial zone and Laem Chabang port, and ports on the Vietnam coast. To the west, shipping lanes will link to Kolkata and Chennai in India.

Financial Times, 13/07/11. Edited and abridged.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ca952db2-644c-11e0-b171-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1SAhxSt3n

Somchet Thinapong, who is leading the Dawei Special Economic Zone project for Italthai, estimates the port will cut seven days off the time it takes goods from factories in Thailand and Vietnam to reach India, but he sees the project capitalising on one of Asia’s last pools of untapped cheap labour. “It is not just about time saved,” says Mr Somchet “I think you have to see this port as more than just transport: it is a production base in itself.” Italthai, Thailand’s largest construction firm, says the full ten-year project will initially target steel, petrochemicals, pulp and paper manufacturers before moving on to lighter industry. The port concession has been given to Italthai by Burma’s military rulers on a 75-year build, operate, transfer contract. According to Somchet, much of the start-up funding will come from Asian banks, but Italthai has already started looking for equity partners. The company has a controlling shareholding in the Dawei Development Corporation with Burmese investors likely to take at least 25 per cent and Asian sovereign funds some of the rest. Somchet said that Italthai was in negotiations with a number of funds but declined to identify them. Italthai has made no effort to attract western businesses to set up in the Dawei project and has plenty of interest from elsewhere. “We have options, we have solid interest from many companies from China, some from Japan, some from Singapore,” he says.

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Piyarat Setthasiriphaiboon, Wall Street Journal, 08/06/11. Excerpt.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304259304576373132737217912.html

Italian-Thai Development PCL President Premchai Karnasuta said Wednesday the investment cost of a planned infrastructure project in Burma is likely to be less than the $8 billion it had expected. He said the firm's financial adviser, Siam Commercial Bank pcl, is working on the financing structure of the project and expects to determine the size of the loans needed for the project in the next few months. The cost of building a deep-sea port, roads and railways in the first stage of infrastructure development at the 250-square-kilometer Dawei Special Economic Zone in southern Burma will cost less than the $4 billion earlier projected, Mr. Premchai told reporters. The projected $4 billion construction costs for other infrastructure projects the firm will build in the special economic zone, including an industrial estate and a waste-water treatment system, will be reviewed later, he said.

Mr. Premchai said financial institutions from Japan, China and elsewhere have shown an interest in the projects, despite Burma remaining under sanctions from the international community. "They can fund the projects through Thailand," he said. He said infrastructure construction at the special zone is likely to start early next year and finish in late 2015. Italian-Thai expects to reduce its stake in its wholly owned Dawei Development Co., the developer of the economic zone, to 51% in a move to raise funds. The firm will meet Japanese investors and business operators next week, followed by China and South Korea, to attract partners to develop the international industrial hub. Italian-Thai expects to hold a 10%-30% stake in each project built after the infrastructure is completed, through Daiwei Development, Mr. Premchai said.
The developer expects to build a power-generating plant in Dawei that will supply 6,000 megawatts of electric power to business operations in the area, Mr. Premchai said. The power plant is likely to need a total investment of $15 billion and the firm is seeking partners to operate the plant, he added. PTT pcl, Electricity Generating pcl, Ratchaburi Electricity Holding pcl, state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, and power-generating firms from Japan and China have expressed an interest, Mr. Premchai said. Italian-Thai is also in talks to sell an additional 3,600 megawatts of power to EGAT from the plant, and this project may need about $5 billion of investment, he said.
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AFP, 05/06/11. Excerpt.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110605/bs_afp/myanmarthailandeconomyenvironment_20110605063141

Plans for the 250-square-kilometre (100-square-mile), deep-sea port near the sleepy fishing town of Dawei include a steel mill, fertiliser plant, a coal-fired power station and oil refinery -- potential boons for Thailand, Burma's energy-hungry neighbour. Construction of a road link to Thailand is almost complete and the first phase, including one of three planned docks, is set to be operational within five years.

Htet Aung, Irrawaddy, 25/02/11. Edited and condensed. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20828

The latest anti-coal protest in southern Thailand’s Nakhon si Thammarat Province has put further pressure on the country’s coal-fueled energy industry, which will reportedly build a power plant in Burma where it hopes to find a more receptive environment. On Thursday, 10,000 residents of Tha Sala District in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province formed a “human chain” as a symbol of their determination to protect their district from a coal-fueled power plant slated to be built by EGAT,” according to a press release by the protest organizer, Greenpeace Southeast Asia. As a result of the strong protests against the use of coal-fired power plants inside the country, Thailand is reportedly looking to build a power plant inear Tavoy on the southern Tenesserim coastline. According to the conceptual plans of the Italian-Thai Development Co, Thailand will build a 4,000 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant—the largest in Southeast Asia—in an industrial estate on the Maungmagan beach near Tavoy. “Coal plants in Thailand are notorious polluters. Mae Moh in Lampang province is considered to be the worst of its kind in Asia, causing sickness and disease as well as lost livelihoods,” said the Green Peace press release. In 2009, Thailand’s Supreme Administrative Court suspended new construction of the 65 industrial factories in Map Ta Phut after the local residents filed a lawsuit against the Thai government.

Bloomberg, 03/11/10. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-11-03/italian-thai-signs-8-6-billion-myanmar-port-contract.html

Italian-Thai Development Plc, Thailand’s biggest construction company, signed an $8.6 billion contract with Burma’s government to build a deep-sea port and industrial estate, Vice President Anan Amarapala said. The project will be located in Dawei, less than 300 kilometers (186 miles) west of Bangkok, offering another route for exporters to ship goods to Europe and the Middle East. Financing for the agreement is still under discussion, Anan said. “Thailand’s government has said they want to support the project, so Italian-Thai will discuss details with them,” Anan said by phone. “There have been no official talks yet.” The planned project would be 10 times bigger than Thailand’s main port and industrial estate, according to Tanit Sorat, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, who has studied the proposal. Nippon Steel Corp., Japan’s largest steel maker, and PTT Plc, Thailand’s largest energy company, are also considering an investment in the project, Tanit said last month. The project will include a coal-fired power plant, an industrial center, oil and gas pipelines and an eight-lane highway, according to Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Board. It may benefit automakers and petrochemical companies looking to expand in the region, it said. “Many private companies from Thailand and overseas would like to be involved in the Dawei project as developers or investors,” Chompunuch Ramanvongse, an NESDB analyst, said last month. “There is a possibility that Ital-Thai will form a holding company for the purpose of co-financing with those developers.”

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