Electrical industry of burma/myanmar

Map references
Several maps of the area where the Tasang dam will be located are available in Warning Signs: An Update on Plans to Dam the Salween in Shan State, (Shan Sapawa Environmental Organization [SAPAWA], 2006). See the maps on pp 7, 11, 16, 22, 23 and especially 24 which shows the area that will be flooded if the dam is built to the proposed height of 228m. http://salweenwatch.org/downloads/warning%20sign.pdf
See also the map on the Shanland website: http://www.shanland.org/environment/2004/Dam_on_the_Salween_definitely_on.htm
Burma 1:250,000: Series U542, U.S. Army Map: NF 47-14: Mong Pan

Tasang dam, near Wan Kawpa [20° 31' N, 98° 38' E], grid square reference: 11\8, 28\4

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/burma/txu-oclc-6924198-nf47-14.jpg
Additional references
Data summary: Tasang

See above: ‘Mongton (Tasang) hydropower project to be developed on Thanlwin’ (NLM: 12/11/10)

See below: ‘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)

‘Hydropower Dept and EGAT ink agreement on Hutgyi project’ (NLM: 10/12/05)
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 which 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 website. 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.

Rajeev Syal and Daniel Pye, The Observer, 27/09/09. Edited and condensed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/27/burma-dams-human-rights

The British construction company Malcolm Dunstan and Associates has been condemned by human rights campaigners amid reports that the projects led to the forced relocation of villagers. The Devon-based family-run firm has been involved in concrete construction on the Yeywa dam in central Burma and the Ta Sang project on the Salween river. The projects, which will generate electricity for Thailand and China, have been targeted by human rights activists after reports that thousands of villagers had been removed from floodplains and opposition ruthlessly crushed. According to the firm's website, it was still involved in the Yeywa project in December 2008, but Dunstan declined last week to say whether it was still working on the site. He confirmed that his firm had been involved in the Ta Sang project but said that its work was completed some years ago.

Shan Sapawa Environment Organization, Roots and Resilience, pp 1 - 48 (July 2009).

http://salweenwatch.org/images/stories/downloads/campaigns/rootsandresilienceenglish.pdf

This report mainly focusses on the town of Kengkham and six village tracts along the Pang river in eastern Shan state which will be severely affected by flooding if and when the Tasang dam is built. Many photos of this traditional Shan community, “off-limits” to outsiders, are provided. Brief updates on recent construction work at Wan Sala near the Tasang dam site and logging activity in the Salween valley are included. At Wan Sala, MDX has finished building six houses, a large office and a health centre, and begun work on a huge building whose purpose is not identified. As of May 2009, all construction in Wan Sala was on hold and most of the MDX staff had gone back to Thailand, presumably to wait out the monsoon season. Clear cutting has devastated forests on the east side off the Salween and the Wa Hong Pang Co has recently started building a logging road west of the Salween between Mong Pan and the Tasang dam site. No new information is provided about the involvement of PRC companies in the Tasang project, but there is an interesting reference to the website of a UK company, Malcolm Dunstan & Associates, which specializes in the design and construction of roller-compacted dams, and which claims to have been involved at some stage in the preparations for the Tasang dam, http://www.rccdams.co.uk/about.htm

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 of the joint working group. This establishes the foundation for the implementation of Myanmar's Salween river basin hydropower projects, particularly the Tasang hydropower project. The working group will then develop the objectives, responsibilities and obligations, and start the assessment of the initial project technology and business risks. They will also arrange joint market field research, and start the pre-project work among Chinese, Thai and Myanmar sides.

"Myanmar Country Report on Progress of Power Development Plans and Transmission Interconnection Projects", Fifith Meeting of Planning Working Group of the Regional Power Trade Coordination Committee, Greater Mekong Subregion (Ventiane, 17/06/08), Appendix 4, p 24.

http://www.adb.org/Documents/Events/Mekong/Proceedings/PWG5-Appendix4.4.pdf

The Tasang hydropower project on the Thanlwin river will be undertaken in three stages. A low-head, roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam, 78 metres high, with a capacity of 200 MW will be completed in 2010. The first phase of the main RCC main dam, 227.5 metres high, with a capacity of 2133 MW will be completed in 2016. The second phase of the power plant at the main dam, with a capacity of 4977 MW, will be completed in 2022. Electricity produced by the first two stages is for export to Thailand. Export of electricity after the final stage is completed will be shared by Thailand and China.

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

According to an an energy expert close to EPM No 1, all hydropower joint ventures with Thailand are still suspended, despite Thailand’s PM Samak Sundaravej recent visit which focussed 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.

Bangkok Post, 16/03/08. http://www.bangkokpost.net/News/16Mar2008_news01.php

Thailand will push ahead with construction of the Tasang hydropower dam and other infrastructure projects in Burma, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said Saturday. The move came as Thailand tried to foster closer economic ties with Burma following the first official visit to the country on 14/03/08 by PM Samak Sundaravej since he took office in February. The Burmese junta raised the issue of the 7,110-megawatt Tasang dam, which Thailand won a concession to build 10 years ago. There has been little progress since then however. Mr Noppadon said the government would urge the private sector to go ahead with the project, which would boost energy security for the kingdom. The Tasang dam is the largest of the proposed hydroelectric projects on the Salween River in Burma's Shan State, about 130km from the Thai-Burmese border. The 228-metre-high dam is slated to be the tallest in SE Asia. The reservoir will flood hundreds of square kilometres of land, according to Salween Watch, a coalition of NGOs based in Chiang Mai, which monitors the issue. Thai firm MDX signed an agreement with the Burmese junta in 2002 to develop the project. However, the planned dam has met with stiff opposition from environmentalists and other activists because it could force several thousand people to leave their homes and land and move elsewhere.

Viparat Jantraprap and Wilawan Pongpitak, Reuters, 14/03/08. http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKBKK8637420080314

Thailand's MDX pcl is relying on hydropower projects in neighbouring Laos and Myanmar to shore up its future revenues, according to executive director Precha Sekhararidhi. Its joint ventures were developing two hydropower projects in neighbouring Laos and expected to sell electricity from them in the next four to five years, Precha told Reuters in an interview. New capacity from the two Lao dams -- the Thuen-Hin Bun hydropower plant and the Nam Nguem 3 dam -- will more than double its power revenues and push the contribution of such revenues to 80pc of its total from 60pc. Electricity sales by its joint ventures, the 350 MW Bang Bo power plant in the Thai province of Samut Prakan and the 210 MW Thuen-Hin Bun hydropower plant in Laos, accounted for about two-thirds of revenues in 2007. Its 52pc-owned GMS Power will have a 20pc stake in the 280-MW extension of the Thuen-Hin Bun hydropower plant and a 27pc stake in the Nam Nguem 3 dam. GMS Power is also conducting a feasibility study for the Ta Sang hydropower project in Myanmar, expected to generate more than 7,000 MW of electricity, with GMS Power set initially to have a 85pc stake. "Technically, Ta Sang dam has a very high potential. We're not able to tell when we expect to finish the development of this project. It will take time, but as a developer, we want to make it quickly," Precha said. The Thai government is trying to persuade Myanmar's military government not to cut the GMS stake in the project. Myanmar officials have said it wants to cut the Thai stake to 24pc.

William Boot, IRROL, 08/03/08. http://www.irrawaddy.org:80/article.php?art_id=10753

The new Thai government of Samak Sundaravej has given the green light to large-scale infrastructure projects such as hydro dams on Burma’s Salween River. Samak’s first visit to Burma as prime minister, scheduled for the second week in March is expected to offer reassurances on the existing agreements between the two countries. “There was some breath holding in recent months, during the previous Bangkok-installed military government phase, on projects such as the hydroelectric dam on the Salween at Tasang,” said Bangkok-based power industries consultant Collin Reynolds. “But I think the China link on this project has to keep it afloat, even though it is highly expensive and of questionable value given the environmental problems almost certain to ensue on both sides of the border.”

SHAN, 29/02/08. http://www.bnionline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3665&Itemid=6

Only Thai trucks from MDX traveling to the Tasang dam site, 140 km away, are allowed to pass through the Kiu Pha Wok pass known as BP-1 by the border guards on the Burmese side, according to a businessman in Nawng Ook aka Arunothai, a Thai village right on the border. The pass has been closed since May 2002, following confrontations between the two countries.

William Boot, IRROL, 16/02/08. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=10422

Suggestions that Thailand’s new government is having second thoughts about supporting major hydro-electric projects on key Burmese rivers are “rather unlikely,” according to energy industry analysts. “Thailand has already programmed these projects into its future energy needs,” said industry analyst Sar Watana in Bangkok this week. “And this government is more pro-business and less environmentally concerned than its predecessor”.

Kyaw Thu, MT, 11/02/08. http://www.mmtimes.com/no405/b003.htm

Hydropower projects underway on the Thanlwin river between Thailand and Myanmar are on hold while the Thai government changes hands. According to an energy expert close to EPM No 1, the Myanmar side still has not received any official information concerning the continuation of hydropower projects being developed between the two nations. The Hutgyi project in Kayin State is worth US$1 billion and is a joint venture between Myanmar’s Dept of Hydropower Implementation (HPID), the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and China’s Sinohydro Corp. It is hoped to produce 1200 megawatts (MW) of electricity when finished. The Tasang hydropower project in Shan State is worth $6 billion and is expected to generate up to 7110MW. It is being jointly developed by Thailand’s MDX Group and the HPID. Work started last March and is expected to finish in 2022.

NLM, 24/01/08. http://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/08nlm/n080124.htm

Lt-Gen Kyaw Win checks the durability of the Tasang bridge and is briefed on developments at the Tasang hydropower project. A RCC dam will be built on the Thanlwin river that will eventually generate 35,446 million kWh per year. Gravelling operations are being carried out on the road between the Tasang bridge and Mongpan.

Kwarn Lake, Shan Herald, 16/01/08.

http://www.shanland.org/environment/2008/chinese-dam-builders-set-up-60-pillars-for-tasang-dam/

Sixty huge pillar have been installed at the site of the Tasang dam project by Chinese engineers. The pillars are about 17-30 yards long and have been set up on both sides of the Salween riverbank. About 40 Chinese dam builders arrived at the site at the beginning of Nov 2007 and have been working there since then. Another hundred Chinese and Thai engineers are expected as the original number has dwindled to about 13, according to a local source. Over 50 soldiers from the Burma Army's LIB 594, have set up a temporary camp on the west bank of Salween River to provide security for the dam project.

Nation (Bangkok), 21/11/07. http://nationmultimedia.com/2007/11/21/business/business_30056827.php

MDX has declined to confirm a report that a Chinese power company has replaced it as a majority stakeholder in the Tasang dam project in eastern Shan state by taking up a 51-pc share in the project. According to a report published in the Myanmar Times on 19/11/07 the Thai company’s stake had been reduced to 24pc. An MDX official also told the AFP news agency that it was considering reducing its stake in the controversial hydropower project, the biggest in the military-run country. "We are looking for a business partner to go ahead with the project, and we are considering reducing our stake," the official said. MDX has reportedly invested about US$6 billion (Bt203 billion) in the project. The Thai company has held an 85-per-cent stake in the project, with the rest owned by Burma's military government.

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CHINA – ASEAN POWER CO-OPERATION & DEVELOPMENT FORUM: NOTES

China Electricity Council, 28-29/10/2007

http://www.eubia.org/fileadmin/template/main/res/pdf/news_articles/CP_07_Overview_EN_07271.pdf
The China – ASEAN Power Co-operation & Development Forum was one of eight fora at the China – ASEAN Expo held at the Nanning Convention Center in Guangxi, China at the end of October 2007. Other fora included in the program of this major business and trade conference included port development, forestry, rural energy projects, applied technology in the agricultural sector, etc. The power forum was notable for bringing together representatives not only of the financial and corporate side of the electric power industry but also those knowledgeable about the environmental and technological aspects of the industry in China, the ASEAN countries and elsewhere. Some of the presentations made by speakers at the power forum conference, including the full text of the paper by Zao Noam and Piaporn Deetes excerpted below, are available on the conference website. http://www.chinapower2007.com/en_neiye3.html Those interested in recent developments in the hydropower construction sector and other aspects of the electric power industry in Burma/Myanmar will find these presentations useful for comparison purposes.
The power forum is of particular relevance to developments in the electrical industry of Burma/Myanmar’s because of the vastly stepped-up investment by PRC companies in hydroelectric projects in the country over the last few years. Mug shots of some of the leading players in these PRC power companies are included in the promotional material for the power forum. They include Liu Zhenya of the PRC’s State Grid Corp, Yuan Maozhen of China Southern Power Grid Co Ltd, Li Xiaopeng of the China Huaneng Group, Zhai Ruoyu of the China Datang Corp, Lu Qizhou of the China Power Investment Corp, Fan Jixiang of Sinohydro Corp and Yang Jixue of the China Gezhouba Group Corp among others in a promotional website for the power forum. http://www.chinapower2007.com/invitation.htm
Additional references:
See above: ‘Negative impact of China’s hydropower investments in Myanmar’ (ICG: 21/09/10)

‘China petitioned on Burma dam projects’ (dpa, 02/12/07)

See below: ‘Chinese hydropower investment in Mekong region: Perspectives’ (LRS: 29/09/07)

‘Myanmar report to Mekong experts on power trade’ (ADB: 18/11/03)

‘Power purchase deal between Thailand and Burma on the way’ (Nation: 27/05/97)
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CHINESE HYDROPOWER INVESTMENT IN THE MEKONG REGION: CIVIL SOCIETY PERSPECTIVES

Zao Noam and Piaporn Deetes, “Chinese Hydropower Industry Investment in the Mekong Region – Impacts and Opportunities for Cooperation: Perspectives from Civil Society”, Living River Siam, 29/10/07. [Excerpts]

For the full text see: http://www.chinapower2007.com/en_neiye3.html

The past decade has witnessed a trend to invest abroad on the part of Chinese hydropower corporations as China continues to overdevelop its own hydropower potential and environmental protection takes greater priorities within the country. Hundreds of state-owned, partially state-owned, and private Chinese hydropower companies, and thousands of associated engineering and design firms, having built up an armor of investment institutions and banks, continue to push hydropower development schemes. But with the realization that hydropower potential is near its capping point in China, these hydropower corporations – from design to construction – have begun to move out into the global energy market.

For example, Sinohydro Corp. agreed to finance the Hutgyi dam on the Salween/Nu River in Burma/Myanmar, and China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) signed MoU’s for the N’Mai Hka and Mali Hka dam cascade in Kachin State, Burma/Myanmar just west of the Nu valley; meanwhile the Chinese central government postponed building the Nu River dam cascade in Yunnan for environmental reasons. Almost 50 different dams have been built, are undergoing construction, or are being surveyed by a team of a total of 21 different Chinese hydropower companies in mainland Southeast Asia, including Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. And this does not include other dams not financed and/or built by Chinese corporations. At the same time, companies such as the the Yunnan Power Grid Corporation, a regional subsidiary of the China Southern Power Grid Co, have pushed beyond China’s southern border to invest in the development of the electricity grid and energy resources of the countries of the Greater Mekong region.
As China’s economy continues to outpace its own domestic supply of natural resource capital, Chinese businessmen are increasingly looking towards Southeast Asia as a nearby, cheap source of resources to feed domestic and international consumer markets and, concomitantly, to generate profits for Chinese businesses. This has resulted in a shift from Chinese foreign policy to “resource diplomacy” which underscores the economic-social-environmental tension currently re-defining China’s relationship with ASEAN. Chinese businessmen, and the markets they serve, increasingly must tap into natural resources – in this case hydropower – from other countries in order to help build modern China while Chinese businessmen continue to make huge profits in the process.
Two main factors weaken the force of this disconcerting energy development strategy. The first is based on energy market analysis. National government agencies often exaggerate predicted future domestic energy demand in their Power Development Plans (PDPs), meaning that an eagerness in hydropower development in the region could provide an over-supply of hydro-electrical power on the market. In addition, many ASEAN countries, notably Burma/Myanmar, remain stuck in political turmoil, creating a politically unstable climate rendering high-risk investments which could later be dishonored.
The second factor revolves around local livelihood impacts, both those affected by downstream impacts from dams in China, as well as impacts by the community living in the vicinity of the dam. A concrete example of transboundary hydropower development impacts is on the Lancang-Mekong River, where the first two hydroelectric dam have already been built in Yunnan Province, while six more are awaiting construction. During the past decade, communities living along the Thai-Lao border of the Mekong have witnessed many changes in the river, citing Lancang dams in Yunnan as the cause. The villagers claim that one of the most adverse impacts is the unusual and unpredictable water fluctuation and the decreased minimum discharge. According to one study, after the construction of the Manwan dam the mean minimum discharge of the Mekong River on Thai-Lao border declined by 25pc. Fisher folk along the Mekong in Chiang Rai province have complained they could not fish in conditions where the river rose and then lowered swiftly in a day or two. As most fish in the Upper Mekong are migratory species that migrate upstream for reproduction, fish depend on the annual river flow for their life cycle. Thus, the water fluctuation inevitably greatly impacts fish migration, and thus abundance of fish.
The authors urge Chinese corporations involved in hydropower projects abroad to carry out transparent, comprehensive environmental, social and economic impact assessments and to make those publicly available, in order to adequately determine the feasibility of projects before concluding any agreements. These assessments must involve the participation of affected peoples. Furthermore, those carrying out hydropower projects must keep affected communities informed from the outset of all plans regarding the projects and involved in decision-making regarding those projects. This includes publicly releasing dam feasibility studies, investment and financial agreements, MoU’s and MoA’s, and clear information regarding responsible parties.
Additional references:
See above: ‘Negative impact of China’s hydropower investments in Myanmar’ (ICG: 21/09/10)

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

‘China - ASEAN Power Co-operation & Development Forum: Notes’ (CEC: 29/10/07)
See below: ‘Electricity ministers busy in Beijing and Kunming’ (NLM: 13/06/07)

‘MoU on Upper Thanlwin hydropower project inked’ (NLM: 07/04/07)

‘Agreement signed for Kachin hydropower projects’ (NLM: 02/01/07)

'China's first BOT hydropower project in Myanmar revs up' (Mekong News: 30/12/06)

'Ministers meet with PRC suppliers in Nanning and Wuhan’ (NLM: 06/11/06)

‘Taping river hydropower projects under discussion in China’ (Hubei Daily: 04/11/06)

‘Hydropwer department and EGAT ink agreement on Hutgyi project’ (NLM: 10/12/05)

‘Agreement signed on Upper Paunglaung hydropower project’ (MIC: 04/09/05)

‘Coal-fired Tigyit plant nears completion’ (MT: 25/04/05)

‘Dam design at Yeywa hydropower project saves time, costs’ (MT: 04/04/05)

‘Paunglaung power plant Myanmar’s first underground station’ (MT: 14/03/05)

‘Mon creek multi-purpose dam and power station opened’ (NLM: 30/12/04)

'Prime Minister visits Kengtawng falls hydropower project' (NLM: 26/05/04)

'Shweli Transmission Line Contract Signed’ (People/s Daily Online: 10/10/03)

‘Khabaung multipurpose dam project long overdue’ (NLM: 13/09/03)

'Contract for Shweli hydropower project signed with YMEC’ (NLM: 09/08/03)

‘Kyee-ohn Kyee-wa multi-purpose dam on Mon creek underway’ (NLM: 01/0703)

‘Power station at Thephanseik dam commissioned into service’ (NLM, 19/06/02)
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