Electrical industry of burma/myanmar

SELF RELIANT HYDROPOWER PLANT SERVING 600 HOMES IN KANAN

Kalay Win Thu, NLM, 30/01/09. (Revised and rewritten)

http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-01-30.pdf
Kanan village is about 20 miles south of Tamu in Sagaing division and lies close to the border with India. There are more than a thousand houses in the village which is home to about 6,000 people of various Chin ethnic groups. The villagers depend on agriculture for their livelihood with over 2,000 acres of farmland. When we visited in January about 500 acres had been put under summer paddy. They also plant cold season crops such as beans and pulses, onions, potatoes and mustard. Bananas, corn and pineapple are planted on the slopes of the Lethataung range where the village is located. The pineapples are of a distinctive Tamu species which are planted on a commercial scale in the Khampat area. The Kanan villagers also breed fish. There are three primary schools and a middle school in the village whefre a large new two-storey school building is under construction. There are many cottage industries, three video lounges, and a rural dispensary in Kanan.
Villagers in Kanan also enjoy the benefits of electricity which they have installed on a self-reliant basis. Electric power is supplied from a small hydropower plant fed with water from Nanpalaw creek (Tuipu Dung) which rises near Shayshweli (Shiallup) village in Tonzong township in Chin state. The water reaches the power plant through a six-foot wide, 200-foot-long canal.
The head of the village council, U Nuu Lyan Htan Ngar, told us the turbine/generator set in the hydropower plant had been installed by by U Sein Toe who is based in Kalay Industrial Zone. According to him, it the largest power plant he has ever put together in the region. The plant was launched at the beginning of 2004 and there are currently more than 600 houses in the village hooked up. Each household has at least one two-foot fluorescent lamp which is serviced with electricity from 7pm to midnight daily at a cost of only K 540 monthly. Altogether there are 800 fluorescent lamps in the village. Electricity is provided on a year-round basis. The plant was built at a cost of K 3.1 million contributed by 70 wellwishers. Close to it, we noticed another small-scale hydropower plant constructed in 1994 that can generate enough electricity to light 500 two-foot fluorescent lamps.
[Originally published in Burmese in Kyemon on 25/01/09. In the print edition of NLM, the article is accompanied by photos of the mill-race and the turbine/generator set.]
Additional references
Kalay Win Thu, NLM, 25/08/11. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/NLM2011-08-25.pdf

Recently I had an opportunity to visit the water inlet canal and self-reliant hydropower station in Kanan Village in Khampat sub-township in the Kalay area. The canal, 200 feet long and six feet wide, is made of bricks. The canal takes water from Tioh Creek that flows down from Tiddim Township in Chin State. “Of all the [mini] hydropower facilities I have set up, the one in Kanan has the highest capability of supplying electricity. It can supply 800 two foot fluorescence tubes,” explained U Sein Toe. The turbine is located beside the hydropower station which distribute the power to the village. Many turbines installed by U Sein Toe, U Maung Win and U Kyaw Shwe are operating in the Kalay region. Hydropower is being generated from creeks that originate at Chin mountain range. Villages in Gangaw, Htilin and Saw townships are also supplied electricity through small turbine hydropower stations. In Lonhaw Village, west of Zahaw Village, sponsors supply electricity to the local people. On my trip, I saw Tawma and Wetthet villages in Htilin township illuminated with hydropower. [Compiler’s note: This article, written by the same journalist as the one above published in January 2009 adds some interesting details about other mini-hydro facilities in the Kalay area.]

NLM, 28/11/08. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2008-11-28.pdf

Kalay IZ has four functioning sectors: automobile manufacture, production and distribution of agricultural equipment, production of electric power generating equipment and the manufacture of general industrial products. In the 2008-2009 financial year, . . . a total of 120 pieces have been manufactured against the target of 424 [needed for] 10 power generation items.

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SAI TIN HYDROPOWER PROJECT PLANS ANNOUNCED

NLM, 28/01/09. Edited and condensed. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-01-28.pdf

Prime Minister General Thein Sein and his entourage met with state, district and township level officials, townselders and ward administrative bodies at the hall of Sittway Station and discussed regional development and natural disaster preparedness.
Previous governments had not been able to carry out development tasks in Rahkine state effectively, he said, but the Tatmadaw government had given special attention to development in the state, he said. He drew attention to the construction of the Yangon-Sittway Road which was started in 1996 and completed in February 2000 and to the difficulties in building the Yangon- Kyaukphyu Road which now linked the southern and northern sections of the state.
Current requirements for the development of Rakhine State included advanced communications, smooth transport and sufficient supply of electricity, he said. He continued to say work was under way to construct Thataychaung hydropower plant in southern Rakhine State, which, on completion, will be able to generate 417 million kilowatt hours a year.
He also announced that Sai Tin hydropower plant would soon be built to supply electricity the northern part of Rakhine State. It had not been undertaken previously, he said due to a scarcity of water [at the falls] in the summer. This would be remedied by plans to create a lake on Sai Tin creek above the falls which would store water in rainy season. Eventually, the power plant there would able to produce 236 million kilowatt hours a year which would be provided to Sittway, Buthidaung, Maungtaw, Kyauktaw, MraukU and Minbya townships.
Afterwards, EPM-1 Zaw Min reported on measures being taken to build the Thahtaychaung hydel power project and An Chaung hydel power project as well as plans for the Sai Tin hydel power plant project in Buthidaung Township. When these were finished there would be sufficient electric power for the whole

of Rakhine state, he said.

EPM-2 Khin Maung Myint reported on the power grid network system for the country, and measures to link the network with Rakhine, Kachin, Chin and Shan East states and Taninthayi division. .
Topographic map reference:

Saingdin Falls in Buthidaung township [co-ordinates n.a.], grid square reference: 12\4, 21\6 [?]

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/burma/txu-oclc-6924198-nf46-14.jpg
Additional references
Data summary: Sai Tin

See above: ‘China Datang and Shwetaung team up for six hydropower projects’ (NLM, 20/01/11)

See below: ‘Mini-hydro facilities slated for dams in Kyauktaw township’ (NLM: 26/11/08)

'Bangladesh, Myanmar to sign hydropower deal' (Xinhua: 15/07/07)

'Thahtay creek dam and other hydropower projects in Arakan' (NLM: 20/04/06)
Narinjara, 22/02/12. Edited and condensed. http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=3264

The government has suspended a project to construct a hydropower station at Saidin Waterfall in Buthidaung township in northern Arakan State. A local resident told Narinjara that nothing was currently underway at the project site. "When we inquired about the project, a responsible official told us that it is currently stopped because the government is planning to build the project in partnership with a Chinese company and it will start again after the company has surveyed the proposed site." A junior government engineer from Buthidaung who is appointed to the project also confirmed that it is temporarily suspended due to a shortage of government funds. Local residents have pinned their hopes on Saidin providing sufficient affordable electrical power in their region due to constant power shortages and rising costs for usage. Electricity is still being rationed for an average of two hours a day, and is only available in the main towns of their region. Residents have to pay 500 Kyat for a unit of electricity, a price twenty times higher than what is charged in the regions of central Burma.

NLM, 30/09/11. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs12/NLM2011-09-30.pdf

At the session of the Amyotha Hluttaw (Nationalities Chamber) of the Parliament on 29/09/11, Dr Aye Maung of Rakhine constituency-1 asked whether experts had conducted surveys of the Laymyo and Saiding hydropower projects and whether there was a plan to publish these surveys. He wanted to know when these projects would be started and completed and how much electricity they would produce when in operation. If these projects were to take a long time, he wanted to know if natural gas produced on the offshore Shwe gas field put into use [to produce electricity for] Rakhine State and whether there was a plan to supply electricity through national grid to the townships in Rakhine State. EPM-1 Zaw Min said that the Laymyo and Saiding hydropower projects were being developed using foreign investment capital. After completion of the company surveys the pros and cons of the environmental issues involved, the ministry would hand these over to the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry for scrutiny and approval. Following this, the report would be posted on the website of the related hydropower company. He said the projects were under observation and that it was estimated that construction of the two facilities would take from five to eight years. Electricity from the two projects would be distributed to Rakhine State and connections with the national grid would be under arrangements with EPM-2.

NLM, 20/01/11. Excerpt. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/NLM2011-01-20.pdf

EPM-1 Zaw Min met with V-P Zou Jiahua of China Datang Corp and Pres Kou Bingen and party of China Datang Overseas Investment Co Ltd in Nay Pyi Taw for discussions on joint implementation of hydropower projects. Afterwards a ceremony to sign MoAs on the implementation of the Ywathit, Nampawn, Namtamhpak, Lemro, Lemro-II and Saingdin hydropower projects was signed between the HPD of EPM-1, China Datang Overseas Investment Co Ltd and Shwe Taung Hydropower Co Ltd [of Myanmar] took place in Yeywa Hall of the Ministry.

NLM, 18/08/10. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs09/NLM2010-08-18.pdf

Photo of site of Saiding hydropower project in Buthidaung township included in the print edition of NLM.

NLM, 19/03/10. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs08/NLM2010-03-19.pdf

EPM-1 Zaw Min explains to Prime Minister Thein Sein the reasons for the failure of previous attempts to harness Saidin waterfall. Aung Zaw Naing of Anagutswanah Co Ltd reports on geological and weather conditions in the area and on a land survey. The KTA company compiled a feasibility study in 1956, but the project could not be implemented due to operations of insurgents in the area. A medium- size hydropower plant that will generate an average of 220 million kwh of electricity annually is underway. It will supply electricity to the ten northern towns and other places in Rakhine state.

Tin Zar Zaw, Popular News, 09/12/09 http://popularmyanmarnews.com/epaper/?p=386

The State has begun cooperation with private companies to implement hydropower projects since November 2009. The Electricity Planning Dept ((HPID) of EPM-1 has signed MoUs with Anargat Swan Arr Co Ltd for the Sai Din hydro-electric power project and with Minn Anawrahta Co Ltd for the Upper Biluchaung project. The companies will carry out the projects under the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) system.

Narinjara News, 11/06/09

http://www.bnionline.net/news/narinjara/6462-six-tribal-villages-relocated-for-hydro-power-project.html

Six Khami ethnic villages in Buthidaung township have been forced to relocate recently by the Burmese military junta in order to proceed with the Sai Dan hydro power project. The villages were located above the Sai Din waterfall area, 30 miles east of Buthidaung town. The six villages are: Swa Yay, Li Bo, Dauk Souk Pai, Mari Mi, Ree Chaung and Pana Chay. The authorities have relocated the villages to upper Pana Chay village. There are about 50 households on an average in each village and most villagers depend on the Sai Dan Creek for their survival, a villager said. A lot of equipment and a number of foreign engineers have arrived in the area to work on the project.

NLM, 24/05/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/NLM2009-05-24.pdf

Maj-Gen Ko Ko of the MoD visits the Saidin hydropower project where he views sample iof stones and the site for construction of the power plant.

NLM, 21/05/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/NLM2009-05-20.pdf

On a visit to Rhakine state, PM Thein Sein is taken to the Thahtay hydropower project and briefed on technological data regarding landslides that took place at the entrance to the diversion tunnel. Major tasks of the project such as construction of the separation wall have been completed. Construction work on the intake structure for the hydropower station and tunnel is ongoing. [Photos of the dam site are included in the print edition of NLM.]

Narinjara, 03/04/09.

http://www.bnionline.net/news/narinjara/6090-resumption-of-sai-din-hydropower-project.html

Work has begun on the Sai Din hydropower project with the help of the Chinese government, according to an engineer in the Buthidaung municipal office. “It is a five-year project set to be completed in 2014," he said. Burmese governments in the past, including the U Nu government, tried to set up a hydropower plant at the Sai Din waterfall but were unsuccessful due to a number of obstacles. In 1952, a foreign engineer was killed by a group from the Burma Communist Party while he was working on a hydropower project in the area. After the incident, the government stopped work on the project. Soon after the current military regime took over power in 1988, it announced that it would set up a plant at the site, but three years later the project was postponed for unknown reasons. Many in the Arakanese community believe the announcement is a ploy intended to garner support for the pro-military government party in the 2010 elections. "I'm sure this time the junta will set up the power plant despite previous projects failing, because many materials are arriving at the construction site and many engineers are working at the site now," the municipal engineer said.

NLM, 01/04/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-04-01.pdf

Sai-Tin hydropower project will be able to generate 75.5 MW or 236 million kilowatt hours a year. Many local people in Kanyinchaung village-tract and Yaybu village will get job opportunities.

Kaladan News, 27/02/09. http://www.kaladanpress.org/v3/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1821:authorities-force-villagers-into-construction-work-at-sine-dine-water-fall-in-buthidaung&catid=93:february-2009&Itemid=2

Residents of villages close to Sine Daung (Saingdin) waterfall in Buthidaung township have been forced to work on construction of roads and to level out places for houses in the area over the last two months, a local village elder said. About a hudred people daily required to work at the site daily. They have to take their own food. The authorities are not even providing any wages for the work they do.

Kyaw Ye Min, NLM, 20/02/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-02-20.pdf

Baluchaung No 3 and Sai Tin hydropower projects are being implemented jointly with foreign investors.

NLM, 30/01/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-01-30.pdf

EPM No 1 Zaw Min and EPM No 2 Khin Maung Myint check on the flow of water into Sai Tin creek and the place chosen for the construction of a dam at the site of the Sai Tin hydropower project, 10 miles east of Buthidaung in Rakhine state. They are briefed by D-G Win Kyi of HPID on the implementation of the project where generators with a capacity of 70 MW will be installed. [A photo of Saingdin falls is included in the print edtion of NLM.]

Independent (Bangladesh), 29/10/07. http://www.theindependent-bd.com/details.php?nid=61718

Bangladesh may drop the idea of importing electricity from Myanmar for reasons of security as well as the huge cost of establishing a power plant there. Local experts feel an investment of US$2 billion could yield more benefit by being utilised within Bangladesh. They cite difficulties in setting up a power grid in hill and forest areas and in monitoring and of maintaining it in difficult terrain. The Power Ministry will still invite Myanmar power sector officials to visit Bangladesh in November, but more as a diplomatic courtesy. The rivers close to the Bangladesh border do not have much power potential; the Michaung can produce 100 MW and the Saingdin has a potential of 80 MW, while the Lemro has a potential of up to 400-600 MW. For every MW of capacity, it is necessary to invest TK5.5 to 6.5 crore (US$800,000 – 950,000).

Narinjara News, 11/05/05. www.burmanet.org/news/2005/05/11/

In 1989, the military junta also attempted to build a well-publicized hydro-power project at Sai Dunn Water Fall, in Buthidaung township; however, it was withdrawn 3 years later without any explanation; every government, since that of U Nu, has tried to woo the people of Arakan with the promise of building a power plant at Sai Dunn.

Narinjara News, 24/10/01. [not available on-line]

The SPDC junta begam to construct a hydro-electric dam with much fanfare at Saingdin Falls in Rakhine state in 1990, but the project fizzled out in 1995. Compiler's Note: The Saingdin River, a tributary of the Mayu, flows south through Buthidaung township in the northern part of the state. According to local sources, the falls was first surveyed as a potential site for hydroelectric development in the early 50s.

WPD, 15/09/90. http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/BPS90-09.pdf

Saing Din hydro-electric project, Buthidaung township, (15 MW), will serve ten northern Rakhine state townships, rather than providing 76.5 MW of industrial power as originally anticipated in 1956; it will cost K 335 million (including US$ 32 million).

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Start 09
PADDY HUSK-FIRED ENGINE USED TO IRRIGATE CROPS IN BALAR REGION

Tin Htwe with photos by Thaung Myint (MNA), NLM, 08/01/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-01-08.pdf

The Balar river pump project is one of a set of similar projects in Hmawby, Hlegu and Mingaladon townships in Yangon division. It is located close to the Yangon-Mandalay Highway No 3 in Mingaladon township and gets its water from the main canal of Ngamoeyeik dam. The first phase of the project which can pump water to a height of 10 feet was completed in February 2005. It consists of a fixed stage to pump water along with a 2500-foot long main canal and tributory canals stretching 13,000 feet with 46 canal structures in total. It has two sets of 40hp, 30-kW water pumps which irrigate 300 acres of farmlands.
The second phase of the of Balar pump project was started in 2005 and completed in 2006. It is also situated alongside the Yangon-Mandalay Highway and gets water from the new Barlar canal of Ngamoeyeik dam. The second phase can pump water as high as 15 feet feet and consists of a fixed pump stage, a 10,000-foot-long main canal, tributory canals stretching 19,000 feet and 52 canal structures in total. The second phase has a 30hp dual-type engine which is reinforced by a paddy husk-fired engine. This combination has proved successful. It helps to reduce diesel consumption by two-thirds and saves costs of K17,730 per acre during the summer paddy season.
Farmers in Hlegu and Mingaladon townships used to have wait for their supply of irrigation water in cultivating summer paddy because the pumps could not be operated due to power shortages. But now, irrigation water can be pumped at any time due to the use of paddy husk-fired power generator. The paddy husk used to fuel the standby pump motor is purchased from them at the price of K200 per basket. So, they benefit in two ways.
The Water Resources Utilization Dept of the Ministry of Agriculture is planning to use of paddy husk-fired engines to irrigate crops on a large scale across the nation. It is also working hard to supply electric power through paddy husk-fired power plants in rural areas. [The article in the print edition of NLM is accompanied by photos of one of the canals and of water being pumped at one of the stations. Another photo shows husk being fed into a tank that is used to produce the methane gas that serves as fuel for the engine. A fourth photo is of the gas-driven engine that powers the pump. This article was originally published in Burmese in Myanmar Alin on 07/01/09.]
Additional references
See below: ‘Village rice husk power plant will serve as research centre’ (MT: 24/09/07)

'Plans for 7-milion-dollar rice husk power plant edge forward' (MT: 27/08/07)

‘Rice-husk generators slated for villages in Yangon division' (MT: 11/06/07)

'Inventor co-op society exports first rice-husk generators' (MT: 21/08/06)

'Interest growing in rice-husk generation’ (MT: 10/07/06)

'Paddy husk power plant tested to cut rice milling costs' (MT: 19/12/05)

‘Engineer touts methane from landfills to generate electricity’ (MT: 09/08/04)

'Biomass gasifier used for tobacco curing in Myingyan’ (TERI: 08/04)

Tin Htwe, NLM, 03/02/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-02-03.pdf

Since 1995, Yangon Division WRUD has been carrying out river-water pump jobs that use diesel-fueled engines but it is now starting to use electric motors. It is learnt that the eight remaining river-water pump projects in the division are being undertaken using biomass gasifier engine pump sets. This method is cost effective and will ensure more income for farmers and reduce air pollution.

NLM, 22/01/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-01-22.pdf

A&IM Htay Oo inspects the Balar-2 water pumping station in Mingaladon township. The station is supplying water to summer paddy fields with the use of a paddy-husk-powered gasifier. The Water Resources Utilization Dept built Balar-1 and Balar-2 stations for the 1000-acre Balar model farm project in Hlegu and Mingaladon townships. This year the Balar-2 station will supply water to 400 acres of farmland for cultivation of crops.

NLM, 27/11/05. http://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/05nlm/n051127.htm

Barlar No 2 river pump station project is close to the junction of the six-lane Yangon-Bago road and No 3 Highway between Mingaladon and Hlegu townships. It will irrigate 1,000 acres of farmland when completed.

NLM, 20/12/04. http://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/04nlm/n041220.htm

Yangon Command has been growing paddy on a 85-acre farm between Hlegu and Mingaladon townships. A project aimed at irrigating the paddy field in summer is underway. Irrigation canals are being dug and a pump house is being built. Arrangements have been made for the installation of 40-hp motor and 315-kVA transformer.

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GENERATOR SALES SPIKE UPWARDS IN YANGON

Thike Zin, Myanmar Times, 15/12/08. http://mmtimes.com/no449/b004.htm

Electricity blackouts have led to a tenfold increase in generator sales in Yangon, shopkeepers say. Following the end of the rainy season, when electricity could reliably be generated by hydropower, power stations are trying – not always successfully – to take up the slack. “We are selling 25 to 30 home generators a week now, compared to two or three a week before,” said U Lu Lay, the owner of Lu Lay generators shop.
Electricity blackouts affect different parts of the city at different times, and for variable periods. Some areas in downtown Yangon are now receiving only 66 hours to 78 hours of electricity supply a week.
Among the generators on the market, Chinese models are selling faster and getting 90 percent of market share, while Japanese generators occupy the remaining 10 percent. “Chinese generators are moving faster because Japanese units cost four times as much,” said U Khin Aung, a sales manager of Honda Generator Shop. While a Chinese generator of 800 watts (W) costs K85,000, a Japanese generator with the same capacity goes for K350,000, said U Khin Aung.
Chinese brands Kenbo, Doyen, Shanho, and Japanese Honda, Elemax and Yamaha generators are available in Yangon. “Generators with an 800W and 2 kilowatt (KW) capacity are more popular. Some consumers choose 800W for lighting and TV, while others go for 2KW in order to power water pumps as well. Consumers prefer Chinese generators that come with a six-month guarantee, and the shop owner has to provide maintenance service if the unit breaks down within that period,” said U Khin Aung.
Generators sales are usually cool between June and October, when heavy rains provide hydropower at full capacity. But when the rains stop, the blackouts begin. [Photo showing popular brands of home generators available at a Yangon shop accompanies the article.]