Electrical industry of burma/myanmar

BANGLADESH, MYANMAR TO SIGN HYDROPOWER DEAL

Xinhua, 15/07/07. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-07/15/content_6379678.htm

Dhaka and Yangon have agreed to sign an MoU to build a large hydropower plant in Myanmar to feed Bangladesh's power-hungry national grid, private news agency UNB reported. The agreement was reached when a Bangladesh delegation recently visited Myanmar, as part of a hectic government search for sources of electricity, Power Secretary M Fouzul Kabir, who led the delegation on the visit from July 10 to 13 to the neighboring country, told reporters Sunday.
A delegation will make a follow-up visit to Myanmar in November and sign the MoU to conduct a joint techno-economic feasibility study of a planned hydropower plant in Rakhaing State that could supply power to Bangladesh. Kabir said three locations are being considered as potential sites for the plant. Among those, a site on the Lemro River of Rakhaine State has the best prospects, as there is a potential for building a 500 MW-600 MW plant. This site is approximately 100 km from Bangladesh.
Kabir said both countries would examine all the possible options which could serve as the basis for such a big-venture plant. "It could be either a government-government joint-venture project or a private-public joint-venture between the two countries." But, he added, everything will be decided after the feasibility study.
The Power Secretary said the feasibility study would look into the technical and financial viability of the project so that both countries can benefit from it. He mentioned that the proposed power plant would be built under long-term planning and would have no role in resolving the present power crisis.
Compiler's Note: Prospective locations for the power plants on both the Lemro and Michaung rivers would appear to be in Paletwa township in southern Chin state rather than in Arakan (Rakhaing) state. For possible sites on the Lemro river see Burma 1:250,000: Series U542, U.S. Army Map: NF 46-15, Myohaung. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/burma/txu-oclc-6924198-nf46-15.jpg

For possible sites on the Michaung see Burma 1:250,000: Series U542, U.S. Army Map: NF 46-11, Mount Victoria. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/burma/txu-oclc-6924198-nf46-11.jpg

For the Saingdin falls site, see Burma 1:250,000: Series U542, U.S. Army Map: NF 46-14: Akyab

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: Laymyo

See below: Sai Tin hydropower project plans announced’ (NLM: 28/01/09)

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

'Thahtay creek dam and other hydropower projects in Arakan' (NLM: 20/04/06)

NLM, 24/04/11. Excerpt, http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/NLM2011-04-24.pdf

At the coordination meeting of the Special Projects Implementation Committee [of the Union Government] on 22/04/11 EPM-2 Khin Maung said that 18 grid and power station projects were being submitted to the meeting of the SPIC for consideration. Among those named were the 230-KV Laymyo-2 – Laymyo national grid and power station projects;
NLM, 11/02/11. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/NLM2011-02-11.pdf

Laymyochaung hydropower project listed as located in Mrauk-U township.

Daily Star, 25/01/11. http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=171548

Bangladesh has initiated a dialogue with a Myanmarese company to buy hydropower from Rakhaine State of Myanmar. “Discussion is going on and I myself had talks with the company officials about importing electricity,” Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said at a press conference in Dhaka yesterday. The private firm has been awarded contracts to set up two hydropower projects, mentioned the minister adding, of the two, one 80 megawatt plant will start production in 2015 and another 800 megawatt project will be operative in 2018. “I met with them on January 23 in Yangoon during my visit there to attend the 13th ministerial meeting of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation [BIMSTEC] and the company agreed to sell hydropower on completion of the projects.” She mentioned that import of electricity from Myanmar would require two grid lines in either side of the border. However, pricing of electricity is yet to be finalised.

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.

New Nation (Bangladesh), 23/09/10. Excerpt. Edited.

http://ebiz.ittefaq.com/issues/2010/09/23/news0054.htm

After the first day of the annual Bangladesh-Myanmar Joint Trade Commission meeting in Dhaka, Commerce Secretary Md Ghulam Hossain told reporters they had discussed importation of electricity from Myanmar. He said Deputy Minister for Commerce of Myanmar Aung Tun had expressed interest in setting up a hydro-electric power station in Arakan state which could export up to 400 MW of electricity to Bangladesh. However, Myanmar was not in a position to set up the power station as a joint investment.

Financial Express (Bangladesh), 02/09/10. Edited and condensed.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=110954&date=2010-09-02

A high-powered Bangladesh delegation received Burma's consent over cross-border electricity trade during its recent visit to the country, according to a senior power ministry official. The agreement is aimed at exporting around 575 megawatts of electricity. A Burmese delegation is expected to visit Dhaka shortly to sign an MoU on the electricity trade between the two countries. Before finalizing the deal, Burma has sought a power purchase guarantee from Bangladesh, said the official who was a member of the delegation that visited Burma last week. The delegation included top officials from the power ministry and Power Development Board (PDB). The power plants with an electricity generation capacity of 500MW and 75MW will be installed on the Lemro and Michaung rivers. Burma’s Shwe Taung Development company has already tied up with a Chinese firm to build these power plants with a view to exporting the output to Bangladesh. It has already secured a land lease in Rakhine state to set up the power plants.

Bangladesh is currently reeling under an acute electricity and gas crisis with electricity generation hovering around 4200MW against demand of over 6000MW and gas output at around 1980 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) against the demand of over 2300 mmcfd. Operations at four major gas guzzling fertiliser factories have been closed down to make room for generating more electricity at gas-based power plants as more than 80pc of the country's power plants are based on gas. Compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations have been ordered to close down for six hours daily to ensure smooth gas supplies to power plants. Holiday staggering in industries is continuing and there is a halt to new connections both for natural gas and electricity. The country's hectic economic activities have sky-rocketed energy demands over the past two years. The government has targeted to produce additional 10,000mw electricity by 2014.
-------------------------------------------------------------
NLM, 27/08/10. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs09/NLM2010-08-27.pdf

EP-1 Zaw Min receives Ambassador Anup Kumar Chakma of Bangladesh and Develoipment Secretary Md Mofazzel Hossain of the Ministry of Power Energy and Mineral Resources of Bangladesh at the ministry in Nay Pyi Taw.

Xinhua, 07/12/09. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/07/content_12603866.htm

Myanmar [will] add three more hydropower plants in western Rakhine state to fulfill the electricity demand in the region, sources with the Ministry of Electric Power said on 07/12/09. The hydropower projects namely Saidin, Thahtay Chaung and Laymyomyit [will] cost over US$ 800 million in total, the sources said, adding that these plants can produce 687 megawatts after completion.

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

On a visit to Sittwe, PM Thein Sein announces that the Sai Tin (Saidin) hydropower plant is be built soon in Buthidaung township to provide electricity for the northern part of Rakhine state. A lake is to be created where rainwater will be stored to make it possible to generate power during the summer when water is scarce. It is expected that the plant will be able to produce 236 million kilowatt hours a year which will be supplied to to Sittway, Buthidaung, Maungtaw, Kyauktaw, MraukU and Minbya. On the same occasion, EPM No 2 Khin Maung Myint reports on arrangements to link the power grid system in the rest of the country to the Rakhine, Kachin, Chin and Shan East states and Taninthayi division.

NLM, 13/01/09. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/NLM2009-01-13.pdf

In a report on the water resources in Rakhine state from which electric power can be generated, EPM No 1 Zaw Min draws attention to the 500-MW Laymyo project and the 76.5 MW Saidin project which reportedly are in the planning phase.

NLM, 16/11/08. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs5/NLM2008-11-16.pdf

At the co-ordination meeting (1/2008) of the Special Projects Implementation Committee in the office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army), EPM No 1 Zaw Min gave a brief account of six completed projects, 22 ongoing projects and 15 hydropower projects that call for the approval of the Committee. [Among] the the fifteen are] the Laymyo [Lemro] hydropower project (500 megawatts) in Rakhine state.

NLM, 12/10/08. http://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/08nlm/n081012.htm

[While in Dhaka,] Minister for Energy Lun Thi met Adviser to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources M Tamin at the latter’s office on 8 October and held comprehensive discussions on energy and power matters.

Daily Star (Bangladesh), 09/10/08. http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=57884le=1055

Talking to the Daily Star after a meeting with Myanmar's Energy Minister Lun Thiin, Prof M Tamim, special assistant to the Bangladesh power and and energy ministry, said Myanmar would seriously look into a proposal to set up a hydropower plant in that country. UNB [previously] reported that according to the proposal Bangladesh would build the hydropower plant at its own cost and get 70pc of the electricity from the project, while 30pc would go to Myanmar as royalty. The hydropower project proposal was initiated by Bangladesh about two years ago. Both sides also signed an MoU to implement the project. As a follow-up, Bangladesh offered to conduct a joint visit to select a project site in Myanmar’s Rakhine state more than six months ago, but there was no response from the other side. Tamim yesterday said the Myanmar side agreed to conduct the joint visit by experts to select the project site. ”We've urged the Myanmar minister to expedite the move," Tamim said.

Financial Express (Bangldesh): 08/12/07.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=19350

Sources at the Bangladesh Power Division say a move to build a hydropower plant in neighbouring Myanmar and bring in electricity through a cross-border transmission line is stuck up due to lack of further initiatives. The two countries agreed in July last to sign an MoU to build a hydropower plant on the Lemro river under joint venture. But it would require a prefeasibility study before taking up such a project, and in pursuance of the initiative the Power Division had sought foreign ministry approval to send a technical committee to Yangon for the study. But the Power Division has not received any response from the foreign ministry to a letter sent nearly two months ago, seeking clearance for such visit, the sources said. Power secretary Fouzul Kabir Khan said said the committee had been due to visit Myanmar for a pre-feasibility study in November. An MoU was scheduled to be signed at that time for carrying out a joint feasibility study to build a hydropower plant on the Lemro river in Rakhaine state, about 100 kilometers from Bangladesh border. He said there is a potential for generating about 500 megawatt (MW) to 600 MW electricity from the plant. Fouzul said the hydropower plant project could be either a government-to-government joint-venture project or a private-public joint venture between the two countries. An international consultant might be appointed to conduct the feasibility study. Experts from both the countries might also be included in the study team, sources said.

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 Bangldesh. 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).

Independent (Bangladesh), 16/09/07.

http://www.theindependent-bd.com/archive.details.php?nd=2007-09-16&nid=57170

Bangladesh and Myanmar will conduct a joint feasibility study on the technical and financial issues involved in power transmission between the two countries before discussing issues relating to a specific project, according to a delegation that spent four days in Myanmar. The Lemro river was said to have an enormous potential of 500-600 MW but the rivers closer to Bangladesh do not have as much potential; the Michaung could produce 100 MW, and the Saingdin, 80 MW. A huge dam would have to be installed. The project would involve a transmission line of 350 - 400 km; also the upgrading of transmission lines in Bangladesh. The whole project could cost more than a billion dollars. Myanmar would require 30pc of power produced; there would be 35-year concession period; each MW capacity would cost between TK5.5 to 6.5 crore (US$ 800,000 – 950,000).

Narinjara News, 25/06/07. http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=1315

Bangladesh would have to spend US $1 billion to import electricity from Burma if it goes ahead with a hydro project to be set up on the Ma Aei-Chaung and Lemro rivers in Rakhine state. The project would involve installation of an 800-MW plant in two phases along with a 120-km-long 132-kV transmission line between the two countries. A delegation led by Bangladesh Power Secretary Fawzul Karim, accompanied by Power Development Board Ch Khijir Khan, and MD Harunur Rashid of the Bangladesh Power Grid Co will go to Burma in July to discuss the project with their Burmese counterparts. Bangladesh power ministry sources say the Burmese government sent a proposal to the Bangladesh government outlining conditions for the project, including 30pc of the power produced and transfer of the plant to Burma after a 40-year concession period.

Narinjara News, 11/06/07. http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=1301

Bangladesh will look for funds from the WB, ADB and Japan to prepare a feasibility report on a hydropower project in Burma. The Power Division (PD) requested the Economic Relations Division to seek funds for the study since a large investment is required. An assessment of potential sites prepared by an expert team of the Power Development Board (PDB) identified sites along the Michaung and Lemro rivers in Arakan State as having potential for generating 800 MW. These areas are viable as they are situated close to Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar. Bangladesh requires around 5,000 MW of power, but its production capacity staggers between 3,000 MW and 3,300 MW, depending on the condition of its decades-old power plants.

Kyaw Thu, Myanmar Times, 04/06/07. http://www.mmtimes.com/no369/b001.htm

The Myanmar government is willing to help neighbouring Bangladesh meet its energy needs by exporting hydroelectricity, a senior official from EPM-1 said on May 28. “If Bangladesh agrees to buy electricity, we will build hydropower plants in Rakhine state and export electricity to Bangladesh,” said the official, who declined to be named. Bangladesh, which has widespread poverty, might not need to fund hydropower plants in order to import electricity from Myanmar, he added, speculating that an Indian energy company may be willing to invest in such a project, which would fit with India’s “Look East” policy. He said that if a deal was struck it would likely involve the construction of more than one dam. There are many rivers in Rakhine State, which borders Bangladesh, that could support hydropower plants, he explained. “We (the Ministry of Electric Power 1) will survey the Kaladan River, Lemro River, Sai Tin Creek and Dalet Creek (all in Rakhine State) for the possible implementation of hydropower projects. A Bangladeshi delegation led by the country’s power secretary is due to arrive in Yangon early this month to hold talks on buying electricity from Myanmar and the implementation of hydropower projects. The speed of sourcing energy from abroad is of key concern to Bangladeshi officials as the country faces a lasting and politically sensitive power crisis. Tapan was quoted in Bangladeshi media last week as saying Myanmar authorities had already set some conditions for Bangladesh’s proposal to set up a hydropower plant. He did not reveal what these conditions were or where funding for a power project might come from. “After negotiations, we will be in a position to know whether it will be viable to set up plants there,” Tapan said.

Financial Express (Bangladesh), 27/01/07. [no longer available on-line]

The Power Division (PD) is weighing the possibility of bringing hydro-electricity from Myanmar following the severe power scarcity in Bangladesh over the last few months. PD has assigned the Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) to assess the potentialities. Natural gas, the main source of power in Bangladesh, is declining gradually. The Myanmar Energy Minister has urged the Bangladeshi ambassador in Yangon to set up hydro-electricity plants there. A PD official said that as per Myanmar government's rules and regulations, Bangladesh would have to supply 30pc of the power generated to domestic consumers in Myanmar and the remaining 70pc could be brought to Bangladesh through a cross-border transmission line.

==================================================================================
POWER SUPPLY, BANK CREDIT -- KEYS TO SME BREAKOUT

Win Nyunt Lwin, Myanmar Times, 09/07/07. http://mmtimes.com/no374/b006.htm

Myanmar should emphasise the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to put the country on a competitive footing with regional rivals, according to an official at the Ministry of Commerce. Dr Htein Lynn, a deputy director at the ministry’s Directorate of Trade, said enhancing the efficiency of smaller businesses would increase exports and earn Myanmar more foreign exchange. It would also increase companies’ chances of survival when barriers to competition from other Southeast Asian countries are removed in a free trade agreement (FTA) scheduled to take effect in 2015, he said.
“When there are zero tariffs in the region, products from our country must be competitive in terms of price as well as quality or we will lose,” said Dr Htein Lynn, who obtained a PhD from Germany’s Goettingen University through research into the SME sector. The food and beverage industries were prime areas for enhancement, he said, claiming these businesses helped bridge the gap between agro-based and industrialised economies by using agricultural products in an industrialised setting, thereby encouraging growth in both sectors.
Myanmar was undergoing a gradual shift from an agricultural country to an “agro-based industrialised country”, Dr Htein Lynn said. But for the transition to have the greatest chance of success, businesses need to be supplied with enough electricity to meet their needs, as well as have a modern banking system at their disposal, he told The Myanmar Times. “Only when there is a good banking system can small businesses get loans for their development,” he said.
Co-operation between the government and the private sector would remove obstacles to development, Dr Htein Lynn added, noting that a stable business climate was necessary to support the planning required to achieve long-term progress.
==================================================================================
FISHERIES FACTORIES OFFERED 24-HOUR POWER

Sann Oo, Myanmar Times, 09/07/07 http://mmtimes.com/no374/b002.htm

Fisheries factories in Yangon were last week invited to provide details necessary for the YESB to provide them with 24-hour power independent of neighbourhood supplies. U Nyo Win, deputy chief engineer for the YESB, told factory owners at a weekly meeting of leading figures in the fishery sector that the authorities were willing to help set up electricity substations in the city to provide power supplies exclusively to processing plants.
The substations, which must be funded entirely by the private factories that would receive the electricity, are intended to help companies sustain production over the dry summer months when electricity supplies nationwide decline due to reduced output at the country’s hydropower stations. No estimate was given on how many substations might be built, although U Nyo Win said the YESB hoped to see the system in place before the end of this year.
“We will arrange to get power to the factories, especially for the coming summer. “Factories owners need to submit their plans for what they want to the YESB,” U Nyo Win said on July 3 at the meeting held at the Myanmar Fisheries Federation (MFF) headquarters in Yangon. The board would then calculate and inform factories of the costs involved before arranging for the transmission plants and power lines to be installed, he added. U Nyo Win said the system would allow electricity to reach factories even when neighbouring residential areas were blacked out.
Securing sufficient electricity has long been the bane of factories in Yangon but supplies this year have become especially important to the fishery sector as it chases an ambitious export target more than 60pc higher than it earned during 2006-07. “Electricity is crucial for our processing plants as we make efforts to reach US$750 million (of exports). Factories play a crucial role in achieving that,” U Han Tun, chairman of the Export Promotion Cte, said at the meeting.
He applauded the move to increase electricity supplies, saying power should be distributed to processing plants, ice factories and animal feed factories because all were essential to building a strong marine products industry. Using generators dramatically increased production costs, he said.
There are currently some 85 factories processing marine products in Yangon. “We will work as hard as we can to get them electricity – that way they can increase their production,” U Nyo Win said. “We will help the fisheries sector achieve their export target.”
The MFF and the EPM No 2 recently set up a committee to help coordinate the establishment of the exclusive electricity supplies. The 22-member committee comprises 18 factory owners from various townships and one representative each from the YESB, the Export Promotion Cte, the Myanmar Fishery Producers and Exporters Ass’n (MFPEA) and the Dept of Fisheries. Townships with fisheries factories that might get the substations include Thaketa, South Dagon, Hlaingthaya and Mingala Taung Nyunt.
A representative of factory owners in South Dagon township said last week that longer electricity supplies would be of great help and the companies he represented were keen to press ahead with securing the separate power lines. “Currently we receive electricity in a half-day rotation, from 5am to 12pm or from 12pm to 7pm. Basically, that is not enough for our plants,” he said.
A representative from Thaketa township, which has six factories producing marine products, was also eager to see the scheme implemented. “We’ve finished our negotiations and plan to submit a proposal to the YESB,” he said. “We are hoping to get the final budget to proceed very soon.”
The 15 factories in Yangon that produce animal and fish feed were also invited to provide outlines of their needs for uninterrupted power supplies to the YESB. D-G Khin Maung Aye of the Dept of Fisheries warned that businesses should prepare now for the coming summer. “Although we are far from next summer when electricity shortages will happen, we need to prepare right now. It is a long-term plan and we cannot do it in a short time,” he said. “Electricity is important. We want you to take this opportunity now that officials are arranging for what you need. Complaining later is not helpful.”
Meanwhile, a US$1.4-million project funded by South Korea to help develop Myanmar’s electricity network, is currently focussing on power lines and substations in Yangon and Mandalay, the local Flower News reported last week The network development project aims to share Korean knowledge and experience in power system operation and protection, general facilities testing, fault analysis and the provision of relay equipment. It is funded by South Korea’s International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and undertaken by the Korea Electric Power Corporation in collaboration with the state-run Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise.